Through My Eyes
by robertwnielsen
Summary: Caitlin told Dom "I care about him too, you know. Probably more than you know," when Hawke was kidnapped by John Bradford Horn. What did she mean? And how would Dom feel about it? Told from both Dom and Cait's POV's
1. Chapter 1

_Through My Eyes_

_Disclaimer – _I don't own any of the characters depicted here – either Bellisario or Universal does – I'm just taking them out to play again.

_Summary –_ Caitlin told Dom "I care about him too, you know. Probably more than you know," when Hawke was kidnapped by John Bradford Horn. What did she mean? And how would Dom feel about it?

A/N – This is an original story idea, based around the S3 season opener, "Horn of Plenty." Caitlin's announcement, "I care about him too, you know. Probably more than you know," was never really explored, beyond her actually saying it. This is my take on what Dom might have thought about what she said. Hope you enjoy it – robertwnielsen.

"_Not 'we,' ME! The instructions say 'ME!'" _I shouted at Caitlin O'Shannessy, who had come with me to meet Archangel and talk about String's kidnapping. I was talking about the videotape that Caitlin and I had received back at the hangar, where String outlined the instructions for his release—I was to deliver Airwolf, alone, to a specific spot, and then String would be free to leave with me in the Jet Ranger. But Cait immediately declared, "We gotta get the Lady!" Meaning, of course, that she wanted to be included in any rescue mission. What I wasn't exactly prepared for were Caitlin's next words to me.

"_Dom, don't do that to me," _Caitlin said, and I heard her voice wavering, as if she were about to cry. _"I care about him too, you know. Probably more than you know."_

I gotta admit, that startled the heck outta me—Caitlin blurting out that she cared about String. I mean, I knew she cared about him_—_heck, even _loved him—_as a friend. Make that as a_ very good friend—_but lately, I've wondered if it wasn't something deeper than just simple friendship. I don't have any real concrete evidence—at least, I _didn't, _until that comment from Cait—but the circumstantial evidence all pointed in that direction. But my mind was focused on getting String away from Horn, so I didn't process what Caitlin had said fully...and I also didn't answer her comment. But I did file it away for future reference. Then I heard Caitlin saying something about how people like whoever had String usually don't start things like this without knowing their targets, and that they must have known that String and I were the only ones who could fly the Lady, so that's how they knew that I could deliver her. And then Caitlin blurted out that she knew something that whoever had kidnapped String didn't know—that _she_ could fly Airwolf. Well, it's true. String and I taught Cait to fly the Lady not long ago, in case something ever happened to one of us. Michael, however, was _not _a happy man when he heard that, but Cait told him that we'd taught her, and nothin' could undo that—which was the truth. Finally, Michael relented and let us go after String. As we flew to the spot where String was supposed to meet me, I told Cait, "We're going in, Cait. If you get hung up, _remember the missile compartment. _Understand?" Cait said, "Right," but there was somethin' about her voice that made me think she was scared. _Glad I'm not the only one, _I remembered thinkin' to myself as I got out of Airwolf and walked towards String. I remember when I stepped out of Airwolf and saw String—he looked fine, and we even exchanged a friendly thumbs-up, just before he pulled that pistol out of his bomber jacket and calmly pumped three shots into my gut.

I'll be perfectly honest—I don't remember much after String pumped those three shots into my gut. I was sure as hell glad they were only tranquilizers, though. I _do _remember waking up in that cell with the worst headache I have ever had in my entire _life_. _T__ake the worst hangover you've ever had and multiply it by 5,000, Santini,_ I remembered thinkin'. Wow, that smarted. _Almost enough to make me quit drinkin', _I thought, dizzily, then added, _almost. _Just then, I heard somebody say "As soon as he recovers, I want him programmed just like Hawke." I knew then that String hadn't been in his right mind when he shot at me, and I was determined not to end up brainwashed too. So, I decided I'd better play possum as long as I possibly could—Cait was gonna have enough problems pulling this off with just String loopy...assuming that the antidote worked and brought String back to his senses. But if _both of us_ were gone, mentally speaking, she'd never have been able to get us out alive.

And if String didn't make it for some reason, well, that woulda been the end for all of us. Not because Horn would have done anything—after all, he needed at least String and me to actually _fly _Airwolf, but Michael had told us that he was giving us 48 hours to rescue String, and then, he'd be hitting Horn's compound, in his words, "_with everything I've got._" And, with the FIRM's connections with the military—plus their specialized assassination team, the "Zebra Squad," which both String and I've seen in action up close and personal, I don't doubt that if we'd failed to rescue String, then all three of us would've been killed, and Airwolf would have been destroyed, in the raid that would've been launched against Horn's compound—a raid I'm still thanking my lucky stars that Michael _didn't _have to order launched. And, I remembered Michael's words when he gave Cait the serum back in his limousine—I had asked Michael if it would set String's head right, and Michael warned us, _It's supposed to, but don't __**use it**__ unless you absolutely have to. The reported side effects have been rapid drops in body temperature, and convulsions. __A__nd in about a third of the tests, __**death.**_ I saw Caitlin's face turn _white__—_even whiter than what's left of my hair—at Michael's last word. And now that I think about it, Cait's reaction should have been another indication to me of how she felt about String, but just like with her comment, I was too worried about String to ask her about it.

But I do remember laying there thinking about everything I'd heard—and seen—when we started this mission. Like I said before, I'd always suspected Caitlin felt something for String—something a lot stronger than the close friendship I knew they'd developed—and, the end of her comment, _"probably more than you know,"_ confirmed what I'd suspected. Even if that boy of mine is too stubborn, or paranoid, or whatever you want to call it, to recognize her feelings and acknowledge them.

I call String "that boy of mine" because, well—he has been ever since the age of twelve, when he and his older brother Saint John lost their parents—my best friend Alan Hawke, and his wife Jane. Maybe String's not my boy legally, but it all stems from a promise I made. Alan and I served together in WWII, flying B-17's and what not, and we kept in touch after the war, then wound up serving together again in Korea. And after Saint John and String were born, I promised Alan that if anything ever happened to him or Jane, I'd take care of the boys—raise 'em like my own kids. So, after the terrible accident on the lake where they lived, and String lives now, I did—raised those boys until they left for Vietnam.

And the three of us must have really blown it where String's concerned—I mean, I thought Alan, Jane and I raised him better than that—the way he treats Caitlin sometimes really makes me mad. And if Alan and Jane could see the way he treats her, I swear they'd be turning over in their graves, they'd be so furious with him. I mean, I guess I can sorta understand where he's comin' from, though—String thinks that he's cursed—that everyone he loves, or _might love,_ will die. And, sadly, events haven't occurred that would change his mind.

First, of course, Alan and Jane were killed in a freak accident, when a drunk boater towing his girlfriend around on water skis plowed into the boat that Alan and Jane were riding in with String and Saint John. Then, just before he and Saint John left for Vietnam, String and his girlfriend Kelly, who, in all honesty, I thought String was gonna marry, were in a car accident—another drunk, he crossed the center line and hit String broadside—and Kelly died. Then, String and Saint John went down on the same mission in Vietnam. String got out, Saint John didn't. And finally, most recently, Gabrielle.

Gabrielle had flown Archangel, the Deputy Director of the FIRM, up to the cabin about two months after the theft of Airwolf, one of the fanciest, most high-tech choppers I've ever seen. I still remember when I first met Gabrielle, one day when I'd flown up to the cabin with a load of groceries.

"_You coulda given me a hand!" I said to String after he met me at the cabin door. I'd just made my regular supply run, with groceries for String, and was more than a little irritated at his good-for-nothing blue-tick hound, Tet, who had been parked right smack in the middle of the dock, and stubbornly refused to move until I'd almost brought the chopper down on him. I almost landed right on top of the damned dog...woulda served him right if I had, I remembered thinking later._

"_He's not big on helping hands," a female voice said, and I noticed a woman—a very **attractive **woman, I remembered thinkin' to myself—coming down the stairs from the sleeping loft, pulling on a sweater. When I saw the color of her sweater—off-white—I knew she was connected to Michael somehow, but that didn't seem to bother String in the least. "But, I am," the woman said to me. She must have noticed my shocked expression, because she smiled at me and tried to take one of the bags I was carrying from me. I think two things had shocked me—number one, she was coming downstairs from the _**bedroom,** _and number two, she was pulling on her sweater—what in the heck had been DOING up there, for Pete's sake? I remember how she tried to take one of the bags from me, but I told her, "I don't believe in women's lib." I don't think she was too impressed by that, though, especially when I said, "I like the sexes the way God intended them." In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have said it, but Gabrielle didn't seem to be bothered by it. _

But, I was sure impressed with her. _I still laugh when I think about how String introduced her to me __after she echoed my last statement, rather sarcastically—"The way __**God intended them.**__" I was really feelin' embarrassed at that point, but String kinda bailed me out._

"_I wouldn't press him, Gabrielle. You won't like the answers!" String said. And that's how I found out who she was. I have to say that I liked her immediately. Maybe a little on the skinny side, but I figured a little of my Italian cooking would fix that. And I could see the effect she had on String—a lot like the effect Caitlin has on him now, or at least, the effect she **would **have on him, if he'd just pull his head out of his behind and acknowledge it._

I really thought Gabrielle and String would get married someday—that is, until I saw her as a dancer in the Red Castle club in Libya, and String told me that Archangel had sent her to help us get Airwolf out. Then, we found Gabrielle in the desert, severely sun burned and, I could tell, almost dead of thirst. And, from the way what little clothing she was still wearing looked, I had to hazard a guess that she'd been raped, at least once, which _really_ made my blood boil—so I could only imagine what String was thinking—and feeling—when he saw her. We knew how she'd gotten there—one of Airwolf's regular crew had said, _"Moffet's got that dancing girl from the Red Castle staked out to a sand dune somewhere, torturing her!" _We finally found her, but it was too late. She ended up dying in String's arms there in the Libyan desert, and he hasn't been the same since.

Sometimes I feel like it was my fault. I mean, if I could've figured out Airwolf's scanners a little faster, maybe we could've gotten to Gabrielle in time. I know it's water under the bridge now, but I still think about it every now and then, and beat myself up over it. String keeps tellin' me it wasn't my fault—and on the one hand, I believe him—Moffet's the one who captured Gabrielle and then tortured her there in the desert. But on the other hand, she was alive when we found her—and, if I'd been able to get those scanners workin' and find her just a few minutes quicker, then maybe we coulda gotten her to a hospital, or somethin', —and maybe she'd be alive and with String now. I know I shouldn't keep beating myself up over it, and String keeps tellin' me that, but I can't help how I feel.

So I guess I can understand why he's so hesitant to let Caitlin into his life, but what I don't get is why String can't understand what the word 'accident' means. I mean, he's seen the reports on both his parents' death, and Kelly's. _Nobody_ could have stopped those accidents, and String coulda been killed, too. Now, as far as Saint John is concerned—and if String ever heard me say this, he'd hate me for the rest of his life—yeah, I worry about him, and I miss him, but we _don't know_ where he is, dammit. I mean, he might be alive and living under an assumed name, or alive and still being held by the North Vietnamese, I dunno—or, he could be dead. But until we find out, completely, one way or the other, there's a part of me that thinks that String shouldn't use Saint John as part of this "curse" of his. Like I said, if String ever heard me say that, he'd probably hate me for the rest of his life, but it needed to be said.

As for Gabrielle, I've lost count of how many times I've tried to explain to String that Moffet was _out of his mind._ He woulda killed Gabrielle whether she and String were lovers or not—if he even _knew _that they were lovers. Come to think of it, I've probably said that to String at _least _as many times as he's tried to tell me Gabrielle's death wasn't my fault. Guess I'm tryin' to tell _him _that her death wasn't _his fault, _either. The problem is, neither one of us has been listening to the other—I haven't been listening to String, and I sure as _hell_ know he's not listenin' to me. But, for whatever reason, String refuses to let go of these ghosts he's carrying, and I can already tell how much it's hurtin' Caitlin. I mean, I hate to admit it, but I've grown to love that little gal like she was my own daughter, and I'm not sure who String's attitude hurts more—Caitlin, or me.

But, I resolved something lying there in that bed—if we made it out of this alive, and String came back to us, I was gonna ask Cait what she meant when she said, "I care about him too, you know. Probably more than you know." Oh, I knew what I thought she meant, or at least, what I _hoped_ she meant. I just didn't know if that actually _was_ what she meant, if that makes any sense. And if she meant what I _hoped, and thought_ she meant, then I'd do whatever I could to get her and String together.

Then, after we'd rescued String and were chasing down Horn, Caitlin said something else that got me thinking.

"_I'll handle this, stay out of it. Horn's _**mine,**_" String said coldly._

"_**I've got dibs on Angelica,"** Caitlin said, and her voice was colder than I'd ever heard it—even colder than String's. I don't think I've ever heard another human being sound that angry—or, that hurt. I remembered thinking to myself, 'why the heck would Cait call dibs on Angelica?'_ I had my suspicions, though—_unless I missed my guess,_ I remembered thinking to myself later, _Cait's _**jealous**_ of Angelica. _I knew String had been dating Angelica—John Bradford Horn's daughter—right before he was kidnapped—and, I had seen Cait's face a couple of times when String and Angelica left the hangar together. The phrase _If looks could kill_ crossed my mind more than once—Cait's expression when she saw String and Angelica together was most definitely that of a _very _jealous woman, at least in my opinion.

A few weeks after we rescued String, Caitlin and I were alone in the hangar one morning while String was out doing some scouting for a shoot we had coming up, and I thought it'd be a good time to talk to Caitlin about what she'd said, and about some of the things I'd been wonderin' about.

"Cait," I said, not really sure where I was going, "can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure, Dom," she replied, with that "million-dollar smile" of hers. "What's up?"

"Well, do you remember what you said back in Archangel's limo?"

"You mean when I said I cared about String, too—probably more than you know, right?" she asked, and I saw the spark of recognition in her eyes.

"Yeah," I said, and my discomfort increased. "What exactly did you mean by that?" I asked her.

"Dom," she began, and I could tell she was as uncomfortable about this subject as I was, "I just—I meant that—geez, this is hard. I meant that I..." She stopped as her voice broke, and I saw tears coming into her blue-green eyes. When I saw her eyes fill with tears, I knew what she was trying to say. _I knew it,_ I thought with an air of satisfaction. _She loves him. __Well, so much for not havin' any concrete evidence, _I said to myself when I realized that her statement that day in Michael's limo had meant exactly what I thought it did—that Cait loved String, in a serious, romantic sort of way. _Now, I've just gotta get __String__ to realize it, __and admit that __**he**__ feels the same way about __**her**__,_ I thought.

"You meant that you love String, didn't you?" I asked, and saw the smile teasing the corners of her mouth.

"Yeah, Dom," she said, forcing her smile wider. "That's exactly what I meant. I mean—I realized when we got that tape, and learned that Hawke had been kidnapped, that I love Hawke, and that I have loved him for a long time. Probably ever since that kiss on the movie set last year."

I was stunned by this revelation, but not completely surprised. Like I said before, I've thought Caitlin had feelings for String that were more than just simple friendship. I smiled and nodded, saying, "And that's why you called 'dibs' on Angelica?"

"Yeah," Cait said, and her expression turned downright nasty. _If looks could kill,_ I thought anxiously, _I'd be dead on the floor __right now__. Thank goodness that look's meant for Angelica, and not me. _Finally, I said, "Cait, look. It's not like I haven't had my thoughts about you and String, but do you really know what you're getting yourself into, feeling like that about him?"

"What?" Caitlin asked, surprised. "You mean that so-called curse of his?" I remembered having had a discussion with her about the curse String thought he had, shortly after she was rescued after the plane she'd taken to Texas was hijacked.

"Doesn't he get it, that if I _hadn't _known him, and you, Dom, when the plane got hijacked, that I'd be _dead _right now?" Caitlin demanded angrily.

"Cait," I said, trying to soothe her emotions, "I've been tryin' to tell String that ever since it happened. Not to mention what happened with Holly." I was referring to an incident shortly after Caitlin arrived here in California, when my niece, Holly Matthews, had tried to kill Cait because she wanted String for herself, and saw Caitlin as an obstacle. Holly was...well, she was nuts, to put it bluntly, and I haven't even thought about her since that psychiatrist came and picked her up. But now that I was being forced to think about it, I remembered something I thought before—_even a crazy woman like Holly could see Caitlin cared about String as somethin' more than a friend. __But__ then, what's that make me, if I couldn't see it? Then again, I couldn't see how nuts Holly was, either. Better question—what the hell does that make String, since HE obviously can't see how much Cait cares about him?_

"Dom," Caitlin said, smiling, "it's okay. Sometimes women read things into other women that aren't really there. Even though in this case, it was."

"How the heck did you...oh, never mind," I said, surprised that Caitlin had somehow figured out what I was thinking. _Although I really shouldn't be,_ I thought. _She's a pretty smart cookie, along with being a great mechanic, so it's not all that surprising that she could figure out what I was thinkin'. Besides, it was probably written all over my face_. And, I remembered when Cait was flyin' Carter Anderson III to that meeting, and got jumped by Robert Villers—the guy she happened to be dating at the time—and almost shot down. _If String and I hadn't been waitin' with the Lady and gotten Cait's Mayday, Villers woulda killed all three of 'em, _I thought, even as I considered the other side of that thought—_of course, __if she didn't know String, she probably wouldn't have even been workin' for me, and wouldn't __even __have been in that plane. _And, I still remember what happened at String's cabin after it was all over...

_String had taken his cello outside to play for awhile, and maybe try to cheer Cait up after what happened with Villers. I happened to listen to the conversation they were having._

"_I'm through, Hawke. I'm through with **people, with life, with work, with everything! That's IT!" **I heard String play the beginning of a funeral dirge. "I'm gonna get on a plane, and I'm gonna just keep on goin' until the money runs out. Then I'm gonna walk! I'm never gonna stop long enough to get involved with anybody!" String played another melancholy snippet, one that I thought reflected Cait's mood perfectly._

"_You think I'm runnin' away. That's what you **really **think." The snippet was a little more upbeat this time, and I swear, I heard Caitlin chuckle. Then, she said, "You came to my rescue again, didn't you?"_

"_Y'know, we really like having you around," String said, "but it **wasn't **us." Of course, I knew String had just lied right to Caitlin's face, but I also knew the reason why—we weren't completely convinced we could trust Cait—yet—and so String was determined to keep our Lady's existence secret for as long as possible._

_That seemed to snap Cait right out of her funk. "Now, wait a minute! You wait **just a minute! **Do you mean that you're gonna sit there and tell me that I just imagined—well, that I didn't see—that there's no big, black helicopter? Now, can you do that?"_

_String chuckled and said, "I think she's feelin' better." I couldn't help but chuckle myself, as String played the opening bars of "The 1812 Overture." And Cait's facial expression said that she was pissed—which I could understand, given the circumstances, but I was still worried that Cait might take a swing at String—or, at me. _It's all water under the bridge now, I guess, but it's still somethin' to think about.

Finally, I said, "Cait, don't worry. I give you my word—everything we've talked about today is strictly between you and me. I won't say a word to String."

"Thanks, Dom," Cait said. I knew she'd been worried that I'd say somethin' to String about what she and I were discussing—don't ask me _how_ I knew—I just—_did._ But I knew I couldn't betray her confidence, and I wanted to make darned sure she understood that I'd keep her secret.

"Don't sweat it, sweetheart," I said, smiling at her.

Just then, I heard the Jeep pull into the hangar, and String got out.

"What's with all the long faces?" he asked.

"Nothing, String," I said, smiling at him. "Well, it's about closing time, so let's button this place up and get outta here, huh?" I hurried to finish the last few things I'd been working on and shut the hangar down, then String and I got into a chopper so I could fly him up to the cabin.

"So, everything look good for the shoot?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation business like.

"Yeah," String said, smiling; something he rarely does. "I can handle it myself. You and Caitlin don't even need to get involved." Then, I noticed his expression turn serious. "You got something else on your mind, Dom?" he asked, and I have to admit, I was more than a little startled.

"Nah," I said, hoping that String wouldn't pick up that I was fibbing. "Just a little worried about the location, that's all."

"Sure, Dom. Whatever you say," String said with a shake of his head. "Hey, what were you and Caitlin talking about when I came back?" I worried that maybe he'd figured out what we were talking about—and what his reaction might be.

"Nothing important," I said.

"You sure?" String asked, and I could tell he wasn't convinced. "Sure looked like it was important from where I stood. I haven't seen you two look that serious in a long time."

"String," I said, not sure how I'd keep the substance of our conversation secret, "it's nothing, okay?" I mean, I hated to lie to String like this, but I'd promised Caitlin that what we talked about would stay between us, and I wasn't about to go back on my promise, if I could help it.

"Whatever you say, Dom," String replied, and I knew from the tone of his voice that he wasn't convinced. By that time, thankfully, we'd arrived at String's cabin, and I landed on the dock so he could get out. _Tet must be waitin' up by the cabin—__or, he's__**in **__the cabin, waitin' for String,_ I thought, noting that the dock was clear. _So at least, I don't have to worry about landing on that sorry mutt._

"See ya in the mornin', String!" I shouted, waving at him as String climbed out and closed the door behind him.

"'Bye, Dom!" he shouted back, stepping back from the helicopter as I throttled it back up and headed back to the hangar, breathing a sigh of relief that String hadn't figured out what was really buggin' me, and I hoped like hell that he'd just leave it alone. _But I know String—and I've got a bad feelin' he's __**not **__gonna leave it alone. Well, at least he'll be gone for a while tomorrow._

But that night as I drove home, before I went to bed, I thought about everything Caitlin had told me, and I realized why she called 'dibs' on Angelica—or at least, why I _thought _she called 'dibs' on Angelica—I actually was surprised I didn't think of it before. _S__he thought String and Angelica—__well—that they slept together__. And, unless I missed my guess, Caitlin was __**jealous**__. Well,_ I thought as I went to bed that night, _I can ask her about it in the morning __after String takes off__._

The next day, String had left to go do that shoot, and Caitlin and I were in the office alone again.

"Cait," I began, nervously, "when you called dibs on Angelica that time, were you thinkin' what I _think_ you were?"

"Depends on what you thought I was thinkin', Dom," she said with her familiar million-dollar smile. "What exactly _were _you thinkin' I was thinkin', anyway?"

"Well," I said, now feeling extremely uncomfortable, and wishing I'd never brought it up, "I kinda thought you were thinkin' that String and Angelica had—well, you know..." I couldn't bring myself to finish my sentence, and I was embarrassed.

"Yeah, Dom," Caitlin said, and her expression told me all I needed to know. "I thought they'd slept together. I mean, I saw Angelica walk out of String's room, and she had this look on her face like she was extremely satisfied about somethin'. And I thought..." Now, it was Caitlin's turn to be embarrassed and not finish a sentence.

"Well, sweetheart," I said, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I'll try to ask String about it sometime, but I'm not makin' any promises. He may not remember anything that happened before you gave him that antidote, y'know." _Although, Cait said String remembered shooting me, so who knows? __And, I'm gonna have to be __**real careful **__when I do ask him about it so that he doesn't figure out why Cait's wonderin' about it._

"Yeah, I know, Dom," Caitlin replied, patting my hand, "it just makes me angry, y'know?" I had to admit to myself that yes, I _did _know Caitlin was angry over what she thought might have happened in String's room. Hell, knowing how Cait feels about String, and knowing what she thought might've happened between him and Angelica, now _I _was angry. And, it just gave more weight to what I thought—correction—what I now _knew _Caitlin meant by _"I care about him too, you know. Probably more than you know." _

That night when I took String back to the cabin, I asked him, "String, when you were Horn's prisoner, did you and Angelica—you know—"I couldn't bring myself to finish my sentence, again.

"Did we—sleep together, you mean?" String asked, and I nodded, sheepishly. He thought about it for a few minutes, then replied, "Not that I remember. I mean, I remember when she came into my room, we kissed a couple of times—a little making out on top of my bed—nothin' that Kelly's dad never caught us doing on a Friday night at her parents' house, but I don't recall actually being _in _the bed with Angelica—and certainly not sleeping with her. Why would you ask me somethin' like that, anyway, Dom?"

_Oh, boy,_ I thought, even as I stifled a smile, remembering how many times Kelly's dad had told me about catching String and Kelly in—shall we say, a _compromising_ position—let's just say that String's damned lucky to still be alive. But, I knew I had to be _real careful _what I told String—_'cause I already feel like I'm betraying Cait's confidence, even bringin' this up,_ I thought anxiously. Out loud, I said, "Well, Caitlin was kinda wondering about that. You remember when she called dibs on Angelica?"

"Yeah," String said, and I could tell he was surprised at the direction the conversation was taking. "But why would Caitlin care whether Angelica and I slept together?"

"I dunno, String," I said, even though I knew perfectly well why Caitlin cared about it. _Another fib I sure hope String never catches on to,_ I thought, even more anxiously this time—because I knew if he did figure out that I was fibbing him, String would probably never speak to me, _or Cait, again, _I thought to myself. Aloud, I said, "Maybe—maybe she was worried about you. Or maybe it was somethin' else, I dunno. But, c'mon, String. You can't tell me you've never noticed how attractive Cait is," I said, trying to change the subject.

"If I said I hadn't, you'd call me a liar, wouldn't you?" String asked me.

"You're darned right I would, buddy boy," I said, smiling at him.

"Yeah, Dom. I have noticed," String said resignedly, and I thought that maybe—just maybe—he was starting to acknowledge the 800-pound gorilla in the chopper with us. _Hah.__ I__n the chopper, the hangar—__hell__, it'd be in the cabin if String would let it,_ I said to myself. I found myself hoping against hope, again, that String was thinking about Caitlin as more than just the friend—make that the _good friend—_that he already thought of her as.

His next words torpedoed that idea. "Dom, I can't think of Caitlin like that. I mean—she's my _friend,_ yeah—and I care about her like that. But you know it can't be more than that. Especially not with..." Don't ask me why, but I totally lost my temper. Completely, totally _lost it._ Worse than I'd ever gotten angry at either String or Saint John.

"Oh, for the love of God, String!" I shouted. "Doesn't the word _accident_ mean _anything to you? _I've looked over the reports on both your parents' accident and the one that killed Kelly, and so have you! And there was _nothing—__nothing, do __you hear me, _about either of those that was your fault! Now, Gabrielle, fine. If you wanna keep carrying the torch for her, that's your business, I guess—but, lemme tell you this, String. I know I've said this before, but this time, you're gonna listen to me, dammit! Moffet was _out of his mind. _A couple bricks short of a full load, cuckoo as a Swiss clock, goofy as a pet coon, or whatever the hell other cute little phrases you wanna use. Do you really think he killed Gabrielle just because you two were lovers, for God's sake? Do you think he even _knew _about you two? I suppose that's why he killed Angela, all those people at Red Star, the crew on that Navy destroyer, not to mention those Mirage pilots! I guess those were all your fault, too, huh?"

"Besides which," I continued before String could say anything, "do we really know, one way or the other, that Saint John is dead?" I stopped at that point, knowin' that my Italian temper had run away with me again—_and, between that and my big mouth, _I thought worriedly, _y__ou're probably gonna hate me for the rest of my life for sayin' that, String, but it had to be said. So whatever you do, I'm okay with it. _

When he didn't answer me right away, I got worried. Finally, String sighed and said, "Yeah, Dom—you're right. We don't know what's going on with Saint John." I quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and just as I was about to say something, String continued.

"And, you're right about Moffet too. Gabrielle told me the same thing when I found her in that dressing room at the Red Castle. She told me that Moffet stole Airwolf and took her to Libya so he could do exactly what he wanted with women. And, there was no way he knew Gabrielle and I were seeing each other," String continued, and I had to wonder if String wasn't slowly coming around to my_—_correction—_our _way of thinking. Caitlin's and mine, that is. By this time, we'd arrived at String's cabin, and just before he got out, I laid my hand on his shoulder and said, "String. I'm—I'm sorry for yelling at ya before. I shouldn't have done that."

"Well," String replied, "maybe. Then again, maybe that was somethin' I've needed to hear for a long time. I'll—I'll see ya in the mornin', Dom," he continued, opening the co-pilot's door and stepping out, closing the door behind him.

As I flew back to the hangar, I thought about String's last words to me. _Maybe. Then again, maybe that was somethin' I've needed to hear for a long time._ _Well, that's—__encouraging, at__ least, _I thought as I got ready to land the copter back at the hangar. I hoped String really _had_ heard me and actually _listened_ to what I'd said. And, I'd completely forgotten something—String _owes Caitlin his life._ If she hadn't found him and injected him with that antidote, then all three of us probably woulda been _killed_ when Michael ordered the strike against Horn's fortress—I still remember him saying, _"I'm giving you 48 hours, and then I'm hitting that location with __**everything I've got.**_**" **And having seen Zebra Squad, the FIRM's special assassination unit, work up close and personal, I don't doubt that we all woulda been dead, and Airwolf blown into about a million little pieces, after that raid.

I gotta admit, I was more nervous when I flew up to the cabin the next morning than I've been in a long time. I didn't know what sort of mood String would be in when he came out, and I didn't want to take any chances, so I waited in the chopper for him, instead of walking up to the door to meet him, like I usually do. When I finally saw him come out, I didn't notice anything in his expression that said he was mad at me...but then again, he didn't seem himself, if that makes any sense. He climbed into the chopper without saying a word and strapped himself in, and we lifted off to head back to the hangar.

"Dom," String said after about twenty minutes, "you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, String," I said. "I was about to ask you the same question."

"Yeah, I'm okay, Dom," String replied.

"Look, String," I said hesitantly, "I'm—I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I said it before. I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did, and, well... "

"Dom," String interrupted, surprising me, "I told you yesterday that I think what you said was something I needed to hear for a long time. I did a lot of thinking last night about what you said, Dom. And, I think things are gonna be different," he said, mysteriously.

"Different?" I echoed, surprised. "In what way, String?" I didn't really expect an answer, and wasn't surprised not to get one. I knew from lookin' at him that String was in his "deep in thought" mode, and probably didn't even hear my question, so I decided to drop the subject. Then, without warning, he turned to me and said, "'Goofy as a pet coon,' Dom?"

I laughed and said, "Heard that on TV somewhere, but it fit Moffet, don'cha think?"

"Yeah, Dom," String said. "It sure did."

When we got to the hangar, neither String nor I was surprised that Caitlin was already there, and everything was open for business. She was standing outside, like she usually does, and she waved as she saw us climb out of the chopper, like has happened a million times before since she came to us.

But all of a sudden, I turned and noticed String doing something he'd only done on a few rare occasions—he was _smiling at Caitlin. _ And then, completely out of the blue, he said, "Mornin,' Cait." Just like that—without me having to prompt him with a stiff elbow to the ribs, like happens most of the time. _He's never done that before,_ I said to myself, and I could tell by Caitlin's expression that she was even more startled at String's greeting than I was.

"Mornin', Hawke," Caitlin finally stammered, and I noticed she looked like she was about to faint. _Easy, sweetheart,_ I thought anxiously.

"Cait? You okay?" String asked her, and now I was _really _surprised. _String never did that before,_ I thought, surprised. I couldn't help but remember what he'd said on the way in. _And I think things are gonna be different, _he'd said. _Well, _I said to myself, _you're certainly starting off a lot differently than I ever expected, String, and I think Cait notices it too._ All the same, I was countin' my blessings that the doc had given me a clean bill of health a couple of days ago—_what I just saw—__and __**heard—**__coulda __given me a heart attack,_ I remembered thinkin' to myself. I tried to temper my excitement, but I knew I was failing—_miserably._ _I just hope it ain't too obvious to String and Cait, _I thought.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Hawke," Caitlin replied. "Just a little surprised. You don't usually say 'good morning' first, y'know." And boy, did I know that was right. I think I could count the number of times String's said 'good morning' to Caitlin first, and _without _me having to elbow him in the ribs to do it, on the fingers of one hand, and still have fingers left over._ Mama Mia,_ I thought excitedly, _I think it might have worked! _But, I also knew String like the back of my hand. _He could flip out and go back to silent mode any second. But this is definitely a step in the right direction._

I felt another major pang of regret for the way I'd yelled at String yesterday—but then, I remembered what he'd said then, and again this morning. _What you said was something I needed to hear for a long time._

"String?"

"Yeah?" he answered me later in the afternoon.

"When you said that yesterday—you know...about what I said being something you've needed to hear for a long time—how many times have I tried to tell you the exact same thing?" I asked him, knowing it was a rhetorical question. If I had a dollar for every time I _have_ tried to tell him that, Santini Air would be a much more upscale operation...I can guarantee that. And, he didn't seem to notice how excited I'd gotten when he'd said hello to Cait when we got to the hangar. _Either that, or he did notice, and he's not letting it get to him,_ I thought.

"Dom," String replied, "I know how you've tried to get me to see sense about Cait practically since the day she got here, and I've been blowing you off most of the time. Especially after the hijacking." I could still remember what happened when Caitlin hung up the phone after talking to her mother.

"_Y'know, maybe—maybe your mommy's right," I said. "You **should** be lookin' out for your future! And, there's a lot of guys out there."_

"_Oh, yeah? Where?" Caitlin had demanded. I simply pointed at String and said, "Well! Huh?"_

I thought Caitlin was gonna die of embarrassment right there, but she didn't. Another little clue how she felt about him, even though that was about a year before String was kidnapped by Horn. "Yeah. I have been kinda pushing that, and, I'm sorry, String," I said. "But, String...you and I know I'm not gonna live forever...and it'd be nice if—twenty years or so from now, when it is my time to go—it'd be nice if I knew there was somebody here lookin' after you, y'know?" _And if that somebody happened to be Caitlin, then so much the better,_ I thought, even as I wondered what was goin' on in String's head.

String laughed, something I hadn't seen or heard him do a lot of, until recently. "Twenty years, huh, Dom?" Then he turned serious. "I know what you mean, Dom. And I appreciate it. But let's not get carried away here, okay? You know me better than anybody. I've got a lot of issues to work through, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do know that, String," I said, and embraced him. "And I'll—I'll try to be patient, and not push you so hard, okay?"

"Okay, Dom," String said, and we left it at that for the day.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I definitely noticed a change in String. I mean, he was smiling almost constantly now, and he and Caitlin were growing closer all the time—so much so that when he finally asked her out on a _real date,_ one night after we closed up the hangar, I had to ask him what had taken him so long.

"Dom," he had replied, "you know I was always the stubborn one."

_Boy, did I know that,_ I said to myself. "Well, String," I said out loud, "I'm just glad you finally came to your senses, y'know?"

"Yeah, Dom," he replied. "I do know." I have to admit, I watched String and Cait walk out to one of my Jeeps, and I felt a surge of pride when I saw String open Cait's door for her, just like I taught him, and Alan had before that. Heck, I remember String as a kid opening doors for his mother, after Alan and I taught him that a gentleman _always_ opens doors for a lady, especially a lady important to him. _Okay, Cait's not really String's lady—__yet—but __it sure looks like it's headed in that direction, _I thought excitedly, even as I allowed myself a moment of pride at String's actions, since Alan and I both taught him that. _We raised him right, Alan old buddy,_ I thought proudly, even as I wiped a tear out of my eye as I thought about my best friend, and what he and Jane must have been thinkin', if they could see what was happening. _I sure hope __you and Jane are happy, buddy. __Be__cause I sure am. But I'll bet neither one of us is as happy as Caitlin, _I thought.

But the _real_ show happened when String and Cait came back. I heard the Jeep pull up, and tried to make myself look busy, shining a spot on 4-4 Charlie, but I was really watchin' String and Cait out of the corner of my eye, and they didn't disappoint me. I watched String and Cait walk arm-in-arm to her car, and then just before String opened her door for her, _he kissed her._ And this wasn't a friendly peck on the cheek, like I've seen String give Cait a thousand times. This one looked like the type of kiss Kelly's dad used to tell me about catching String doin' with Kelly—the ones that coulda gotten him killed. Or, it looked like the one he finally gave Cait on that movie set, after that director practically twisted poor String's arm off to do it right. _Too bad that movie director ain't out there,_ I thought, remembering how hard he had to push String and Cait to make their kiss more "realistic." _'Cause what I'm seein' is about as real as you can get, _I thought excitedly. And once again, I felt myself wondering whether Alan and Jane could see what was goin' on—and I got the funniest feeling that if they _could _see it, they were as happy as two peas in a pod, or somethin' like that. _And I'm absolutely thrilled, _I thought happily, even as I began worryin' about both String and Cait—_c'mon, you two, __**breathe, **__for Pete's sake!_ I thought, suddenly growing anxious. When String and Cait finally separated, just from the looks on both their faces, I knew a miracle had happened. _He finally acknowledged the obvious—how much Cait loves him, and that he loves her, too,_ I thought, relieved, as Cait got into her car and drove off, and I saw String walking towards me.

"Did you two kids have a nice time?" I asked String as we climbed in the helicopter and I started up the engine.

"Yeah, Dom," String said, shaking his head, "we did. And we each learned something."

"What would that be, String?" I asked, even though I was hoping—and _praying—_that I knew the answer. I mean, I _thought, _based on what I'd seen just before Cait left, that String had finally seen the light and told Cait he loved her, and that Cait had finally been able to tell String that she loved him, just like she'd told me in the hangar the other day, and in a roundabout way, what she'd said that day in Michael's limo the day we met to plan out how we were gonna rescue String, but I wasn't about to assume anything. Because if I was wrong, I'd end up lookin' like a complete ass, and even though String was the only one who woulda seen it, I still didn't like the thought—besides which, if I _was _wrong, String would _never _let me hear the end of it.

"We both learned that we love each other," String said, smiling. I got so excited, I darned near lost control of the helicopter. _Thank goodness String's ready to take control if I do lose it,_ I thought, but I stayed in control, even as my excitement finally got the better of me.

"_YEE-HAA!"_ I shouted, grinning. "Oh, String, that's a load off my mind!"

"Well, Dom," String said, trying to caution me, "let's not be too hasty. I mean, you know me better than anybody—you know that I've got a lot of issues to work through, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said. I hoped my tone of voice didn't make String think I was brushing his comments aside—I wasn't—so I added, "But at least, now, you've got somebody to work through those issues _with __you_, String. That's gotta make you feel good."

"It does, Dom," String said as we landed on the dock back at the cabin. I couldn't help but notice a certain expression in String's eyes as he got out of the helicopter and stepped back so I could head back to the hangar. _If I'm not mistaken, he's lonely,_ I thought, and wondered as I flew back—_how long is it gonna be before Cait moves into the cabin with String? Or at least until she starts spendin' her nights with him,_ I thought.I have to admit, I was grinning like the cat that ate the canary, all the way home, I was so happy. _Finally, String's taken the chance to love somebody again,_ I thought excitedly, remembering how guarded he'd been with his emotions after Gabrielle was killed. Sure, he had a few flings, but nothin' serious, _until now,_ I thought, remembering how they'd looked when they were kissing out in front of the hangar. Don't ask me why, but I got the funniest feelin' that there was gonna be a wedding in the future. _The not-too-distant future, I'll bet, _I thought happily as I fell asleep that night.

**Six months later...**

_I cannot believe this is happening,_ I thought happily as I watched Saint John fixing String's tie in the bedroom of the cabin, before he married Caitlin. _Not only is String getting married—which I never thought would happen after Gabrielle got killed—but, Saint John's here to see it._ Saint John had come back to us about five months ago, and told String and me that he'd been recruited by another division of the CIA to work in "hotspots" around the world—not too much different from what String, Caitlin, and I were doing with Michael's FIRM. Saint John _also _told us that the unit he was leading was classified _Top Secret Umbra,_ which he explained as the highest security classification in the country. Once I'd heard that, I knew why String had so much difficulty finding out where Saint John was, and what he was doing. But, some people from the FIRM had caught up with Saint John and convinced him to come home, saying that his services were no longer required. String hadn't been too crazy about the idea that his older brother was working undercover for so long, but Caitlin and I finally got him to understand why Saint John chose to do it. And after a couple of knock-down, drag-out screaming matches that I unfortunately had to referee, they made their peace about a month before String proposed to Cait.

The night String proposed, now that was a night I'll never forget as long as I live—and, I'm sure I'll be tellin' Alan and Jane about it, if I see them again someday after I'm gone. I remember String telling me that he'd invited Caitlin's mom, and her older sister Erin, out to California for something, but he wouldn't tell me what, even the day they showed up at the hangar. I have to admit, though, that I kinda got a suspicion when String pulled me aside and told me to take Cait's mom and sister up to the cabin, and to stay, 'cause I'd be makin' dinner for everybody that night. But I sure as hell wasn't about to assume anything, especially where String's concerned, 'cause you know what they say about "assuming" things—and the last thing I wanted was to be wrong, and look like an ass in front of String, Caitlin, and her family, so I kept quiet. String and Cait came up a couple of hours later, and I could tell from her expression that Caitlin didn't have a clue what was going on in String's head, either. But I also knew something else—the minute Cait saw her mom and sister, she got worried _sick. _I was just wishing I knew what the heck was goin' on, so I could ease Caitlin's mind a little bit. _And mine,_ I remembered thinking later. I mean, even when Maggie and Erin had arrived at the hangar, I had to tell them that I didn't have a clue why String had flown them out here from Texas, and all I knew was that I'd be flying them up to String's cabin after we closed down. As we flew up to the cabin, Maggie and Erin were talkin' about why _they _thought this was happening, and I got the distinct impression that they both were wondering if String was gonna propose tonight. _That makes three of us,_ I thought, confused.

I remember as we sat down to dinner, I thought to myself,_ String, you're not gonna...are you?_ Don't ask me why, but I got the funny feelin' that String was gonna ask Cait to marry him. I don't know where that came from—but it seemed to fit—he flew Caitlin's mom and big sister—the only family she's got left—out to California from Texas, then invited us all up to the cabin, _So what the heck else could he be planning? _But I knew that look I saw on String's face as he and I cleared the table—he wasn't talking, and if I had asked him about it, I knew I woulda been taking my life into my own hands. And String made us wait until after we'd had dinner to spring his surprise on us—first, he asked me to fix everybody a glass of champagne, which surprised me, then he unveiled his little surprise when he got down on one knee and asked Caitlin to marry him. _Now I know why Mama always said I never woulda made it as a doctor,_ I thought, '_cause I've got **no ****patients—err—patience****.**_ I remember the look on Cait's mom's face—Other than Caitlin, I don't think I've ever seen anybody happier—well, except maybe _me, _but I couldn't exactly see my own face. Later on, when I got ready to take Maggie and Erin back to the hangar so they could catch a cab back to their hotel, I almost asked Cait if she was coming with us, but I caught something in her eyes that said she had other ideas. _Yeah, right, Santini,_ I thought, stifling a laugh. _No way she's comin' back with you. In fact, don't be surprised if she moves in here permanently._ Which she did, the next day, after she confirmed my suspicions—that she and String had slept together. _Why am I not surprised?_ I thought, knowing that Alan and Jane had done somethin' similar after they got engaged. _Like father, like son, _I thought with a silent chuckle_._

Now, as String and Caitlin stood in front of a judge on the dock at the cabin and took their wedding vows, along with Saint John and me, Michael, Marella, and Caitlin's mother Maggie and older sister Erin, I couldn't help but think about how Caitlin had dropped that bombshell on me almost a year previous, when she said, "Dom, don't do that to me. I care about him, too, you know. _Probably more than you know." Well, Mrs. Hawke,_ I thought, smiling, as String and Caitlin kissed each other for the first time as husband and wife, _if I didn't know what you meant that day in Michael's limo, I sure as hell know now. And I gotta thank God for letting me live long enough to see this day._ I felt like God could take me right then, but I changed my mind, and hoped like heck that he wouldn't. _I wanna see my grandkids, if that's okay with you, God,_ I thought happily when I fell asleep that night. _A couple of kids with Cait's red hair and String's eyes—yeah—that'd make everything just about perfect,_ I thought as I fell asleep. I thought about how I'd seen String and Cait's relationship grow ever since he finally acknowledged how he felt about her, and I realized that String and Cait loved each other the same way that Alan and Jane had. _Which doesn't surprise me in the least, _I thought, happier than I've felt in a long time. _I'm just glad I got to see this happen, like I said before. _And I knew that String was finally, and truly, happy—and that made me happy.


	2. Chapter 2

_Through My Eyes, Chap. 2_

_Disclaimer – _Don't own 'em, not making any money...just having a little playdate.

A/N – Hadn't planned on doing this second chapter, but the voices in my head wouldn't shut up. Enjoy! – robertwnielsen.

"_We gotta get the Lady!" I stated._

"_Not 'we,' 'ME!' The instructions say, 'ME!'" Dom shouted in return. I couldn't believe Dom was gonna leave me out of a rescue mission for Hawke, especially if they wanted to keep Airwolf._

"_Dom, don't do that to me," I said, and my voice sounded like I was ready to break into tears at any moment, which, in all honesty, I was. "I care about him, too, y'know. Probably more than you know." _I really didn't know why I said that, at least, not at the time. _Now,_ of course, I know exactly why I said that—because it's the truth. I have loved Stringfellow Hawke practically since the day he and I kissed on that movie set about a year ago. Once the director got Hawke to relax, I swear, I've never had anybody kiss me like that, and I made up my mind right then and there—Hawke is the _only man_ I ever want kissing me. Period.

But we gotta get him back first—he's been kidnapped by a billionaire named John Bradford Horn, who's trying to add Airwolf to his collection. But, something's bugging me—I've dealt with Horn-types before, back when I was a cop in Texas, and they don't normally start an operation like this without doing some thorough research on their targets. They must have known Hawke and Dom were the only two who could fly the Lady, so they'd know Dominic could deliver her, but I know somethin' they don't. _I _know how to fly her.

Hawke and Dom taught me to fly Airwolf a few months ago...first, because Hawke needed my help when Michael was captured in East Germany, and he and Dom were injured in a crazy accident during a flying stunt. Hawke taught me how to run the engineering console, and we were able, with Dom's help, to get Michael back. Then, not long ago, they decided to check me out as a full backup pilot, in case something ever happened to Dom, or String. Now, Michael was insisting that we abandon Hawke. _Like hell we will, _I said to myself.

_Michael had just asked me if I was serious, that I could fly Airwolf. "YES!" I shouted, probably more loudly than I should have. "Hawke and Dom taught me, nothing can undo that. Now, you wanna talk about letting us go?" I demanded, then Dom and Michael slid into the back of the limo with me, and Michael proceeded to tell us that we had 48 hours to rescue Hawke...then, he'd hit the location where Hawke was being held, in his words, "with everything I've got." _And, considering Michael's contacts within the military, not to mention the assault teams he has available, I reckon there wouldn't be much left of this compound, _or String, _if we failed. _So, we just have to make sure we _**don't **_fail, _I thought, determined, even as Michael handed me a pouch with several small vials and a hypodermic needle. He proceeded to tell us that it was an experimental serum that the FIRM had been working on, and that it should set String's head straight, but we shouldn't use it unless it was _absolutely necessary, _because the reported side effects had included radical drops in body temperature, convulsions, and in about a third of the tests, _death._ I resolved that I'd follow Michael's orders. I didn't want anything to happen to String, if I could avoid it. All the same, when I heard Michael say that almost a third of the test subjects had died, I know my face turned white, and I'm pretty sure Dom noticed it, too.

Once Dom and I were out of the limousine, we high-tailed it to the Lair, after making sure we weren't being followed, and got Airwolf. As we flew towards Horn's hideout, Dom said to me, "We're going in, Cait. If you get hung up, _remember the missile compartment. _Understand?"

"Right," I replied, suddenly becoming frightened. _What the hell had I gotten myself into, anyway? _I remembered asking myself.Then I realized I shoulda asked that before I flew away from Texas last year to find Hawke._ Whether I like it or not, I'm in this thing for the long haul now,_ I said to myself as Dom brought Airwolf in for a landing.

Once we landed, and Dom got out of Airwolf, I saw String. He _looked_ okay, and even exchanged a thumbs-up with Dom, so I thought maybe we'd all get out of there with our skins intact; but then, I saw Hawke pull a pistol out of his bomber jacket and calmly pump three rounds into Dom's chest. I couldn't believe it—Hawke had just shot Dom in cold-blood—the man who'd raised String and his big brother Saint John since their parents died in that boating accident. Then I noticed Hawke headed towards Airwolf, and I did what Dom told me—I hid in the missile compartment as Hawke climbed into Airwolf and took her into the sky.

During the short flight, I had time to think over what I'd just seen—there was no way—no way in _hell_ that Stringfellow Hawke would shoot Dom like that—not the Hawke _I_ know, at least—and, certainly not if he was in his right mind. _Brainwashing,_ I thought nervously. _It's gotta be brainwashing. _Then I remembered the drugs Michael had given me—it looked like I was gonna need to use them at some point.

Finally, I felt Airwolf settle down and heard Hawke arm the internal security system, then climb out of the chopper. I moved out of the missile compartment and hid behind Hawke's chair. I wasn't exactly sure what I was waiting _for, _until I heard somebody trying to open the pilot's-side door. Before he could get too far inside, I knocked him out with a quick blow to the head, and then I noticed something—_his uniform oughta fit me just fine. _I quickly changed out of the Airwolf flight suit into his clothes, then dragged his unconscious body as far away from Airwolf as I could. Then, once I made sure that I'd switched the pouch containing what we hoped was the antidote into one of the pockets of my new uniform, I decided I needed to look for Hawke, and Dom, if he was still alive.

I was surprised that nobody even gave me a second glance as I walked through the corridors of the compound, but nobody did. Suddenly, I passed a room with an open door, and happened to peek inside. _DOM!_ I thought, relieved and excited. He was hooked up to a heart monitor, and the sounds I heard indicated that he was unconscious, not dead. Then, I saw him move slightly, and I knew it—_he's alive. Thank God._ Now I just had to find String, and hope like hell he was okay, so we could all get out of this mess.

I don't remember where I'd heard the name Angelica before, but the blond woman I saw coming out of a room a little further down the hall certainly looked like the photos Michael had shown Dom and me of her. Then she turned back to the door of the room, and I saw him. _Hawke!_ For the second time in as many minutes, my heart leaped in relief—String and Dom were both alive, and I thought our chances of getting out of this mess had increased about a thousand fold. As Angelica turned and walked away, she seemed to me to have a look of enormous satisfaction in her eyes, and I gotta admit, I wondered what the heck had gone on in that room. If String was really brainwashed like we thought he was, who knew what she might have done with Hawke—or, _to him—_and, quite frankly, that thought made me _furious._ Before I walked into String's room, I got the hypo ready, measuring a dose of what I prayed was the antidote into it.

As soon as I was sure that Angelica had moved too far away to see me, I moved towards the door of Hawke's room and slipped inside. An untouched dinner tray sat next to the bed, and I found Hawke standing with his back to me in the middle of the room. I tried to sneak up on him, but that danged super-hearing of his caught me, and he turned around.

When I saw his eyes as they focused on me, I knew something was wrong. Hawke didn't betray so much as an inkling of recognition of who I was. In one respect, I wasn't surprised, since my red hair was hidden under the ball cap I'd lifted from that guard, so I gathered my nerve and said, "Hawke?" I hoped my voice would sound familiar to him, but I was wrong.

"_SPY!"_ Hawke shouted, charging me. I deftly sidestepped him, but he turned and advanced on me again. _I'm so sorry, Hawke,_ I thought sadly as I kicked him square in the gut, dropping him to his knees temporarily.

He recovered quicker than I expected, though, and I reached into my pocket for the hypo as he charged again. Without even thinking, I rammed the needle into his gut, even as Archangel's voice rang in my head—"_It's supposed to, but don't _**use it**_ unless you absolutely have to. The reported side effects have included radical drops in body temperature, and convulsions, and in about a third of the tests, _**death.**_" But, _I reasoned as I lowered String's body to the floor, _that meant that 66% of the subjects didn't die._ I watched Hawke as he went through a series of convulsions, and then, his body was still.

"_Hawke?" I called out, hoping he'd hear me, but no response. "Hawke?" I called again, shaking his body a little, the fear ringing in my voice. _Again, I heard Archangel's last words... "..._and in about a third of the tests, _**death.**" I began to panic at this point, and straddled Hawke to give him CPR, the way I did to Daddy when I was 12, and he had a heart attack on Christmas Eve. _But just like that awful night, Hawke wasn't moving. There wasn't any sound coming from his body, and the panic I felt a moment ago gripped me full force._

"_NO!" I screamed, pounding Hawke's chest. "I thought it'd help you! NO! NO!" _Sobbing, I sank down against Hawke's chest, one ear coming to rest just over his heart, hoping to hear something, _anything, _that would let me know he was alive. I couldn't believe that Hawke was dead...and that _I _was responsible, which made me want to die, too, because I'd killed him. And, most importantly, I'd never gotten the chance to tell him that I loved him. As much as I thought that our odds of survival had increased when I found String and Dom alive, I felt like they had just decreased again. I began sobbing into Hawke's chest, my emotions finally getting the best of me.

I don't know how long I lay there crying, hoping—and _praying—_that I'd hear something, but suddenly, I felt a twitch underneath me. Then another. And another. I opened my eyes, shook my head to try to clear the tears out of them, and mumbled, "Hawke?" Then I felt him begin to move, so I quickly climbed off him, trying to help him sit up. _If he'd opened his eyes and seen me lyin' on top of him like that,_ I remembered thinking later, _what the heck would he have said?_ I knew I had to quit worryin' about that, though, as I saw Hawke's eyes open and saw him shaking his head, as if he was tryin' to clear out the cobwebs that the drugs had left in there—or somethin' like that.

"Hawke?" I asked again, hoping against hope that he was coming back to us—_to me, _I thought anxiously as he shook his head, I guess trying to clear the cobwebs out of it. Then he looked over at me, and I could see the recognition in his eyes; or at least, I thought I could. _He's back,_ I said to myself, a wave of relief flooding through me, _and he's okay._ Then I realized something—_I don't know if he's got his memory back_. Even though I hoped he wouldn't, I prepared myself for the very real possibility that Hawke would attack me again. The ball cap I'd been wearing had fallen off during the fight, so my red hair was hangin' down in plain sight—and I guess I was hopin' that'd help String recognize me.

"_Cait?"_ Hawke finally stammered as he brushed a few strands of my hair out of my face, with a tender touch that caused my heart to skip a beat—or two. _Thank you, God,_ I thought excitedly. Hawke was alive, and appeared to have gotten his memory back. Suddenly, he began gasping for air, like he was going to pass out again. _"Dom! I, I killed Dom!" _String shouted, and just like that, his eyes became dark and hooded again, just like they'd been while he was under the influence of Horn's drugs. _I don't want to see that expression again, _**EVER, **_and I'll do whatever I have to do, just to make sure I don't,_ I thought, knowing that I had to reassure Hawke that Dom was alive.

"_NO! He's, he's in a cell here. Your gun was filled with tranquilizers! He's all right! I've seen him," _I said, stroking Hawke's cheek to try to get him to calm down. _"I've seen him."_ Then, once I thought Hawke was calm, I asked him who this guy, Horn, was. Hawke proceeded to tell me that Horn was in trouble with the US Government six ways from Sunday, all because of oil wells that didn't get drilled, high-rises that didn't get built, and I-don't-know-what all else. Horn had wanted Hawke for some sort of Airwolf mission, but now, we had the upper hand. _"We've gotta find a way to get us all outta this," _Hawke said, and I felt my emotions swelling again—love, relief that String was alive and okay, and a complete and utter confidence that we were gonna make it.

"_We will," _I said, fixing my eyes on Hawke's.

The next morning, Hawke went to meet with Horn, pretending to still be brainwashed, while I waited for the escape attempt to begin. Finally, I heard an explosion, and knew Hawke had started attacking the compound. I quietly moved toward Dom's cell, only to be stopped by another one of Horn's guards. _"Hey!"_ He shouted, and I turned and fired two shots into him, dropping him instantly. My next shots opened Dom's cell door, and I threw his arm around my shoulders, helping him out of the cell and towards the exit. We didn't encounter as much resistance as I thought we would—the soldiers were more concerned with defense of the compound, I guess, and a short time later, the three of us were back aboard Airwolf—me in the countermeasure specialist's chair, and Dom in his usual place at the engineering console.

"_I'll handle this. Stay out of it. Horn's _**mine,**_" we heard Hawke say. But I felt compelled to add something._

"_I've got dibs on Angelica," I said, my voice sounding colder to me than I'd ever heard it before. I glanced over to Hawke in the commander's chair, and he nodded ever so subtly. There was no way that I was gonna let that bitch get away with anything she might have done to String. _

We finally caught up with the car that Horn and Angelica were using to escape, and Hawke used a couple of Hellfire missiles from Airwolf to blast the road ahead of them, forcing them to stop. Once we'd landed, we all drew our service weapons and slowly approached the car. String opened the driver's side door, and a man fell out, evidently the chauffeur, obviously dead from a bullet to the head. We opened the rest of the doors, but found the car deserted. _"Where'd they go?" _Dom demanded, after finding the trunk as empty as the rest of the car.

"Horn's gonna show up again," Hawke said, his voice cold once again, "and when he does..."

"And the daughter!" I interrupted. "Remember, she's _mine!_" I had a score to settle with that bitch...and if I ever saw her again, she'd know who I was, no question about it.

We notified Michael and the authorities, then flew Airwolf back to the Lair, drove back to the hangar, and then went our separate ways. While I was relieved that String was back with us, and Airwolf was safe, something had been bugging me ever since we left the compound—not so much my feelings about String—I already _knew_ I loved him—but what were his feelings about _me?_

I mean, I know about this cockeyed curse Hawke thinks he's got on him—the one where anyone he loves, or might love, will die. But I can't for the life of me understand why Hawke can't accept that what happened to his folks, and his old girlfriend Kelly, were _accidents._ I don't know all the details, of course, but from what Dom's told me, _nobody _could've stopped either one of those people from having those collisions. As for this other woman, Gabrielle, I don't see why Hawke thinks that was his fault, either. I mean, Dom told me a little bit about this Moffet character; the one who built Airwolf...and what I heard gave me the willies. Geez, I never thought I'd use that word again. "Willies," but it fits. This Moffet character sounded like he was _out of his mind. _Actually, he and Horn might have gotten along real well, if they didn't decide to try and kill each other.

And I know Gabrielle had self-defense training; heck, I did when I became a cop, not to mention the "training" I got from my big sister Erin, and I can only imagine that people who work for Michael get training that rivals even what we got with the Texas Highway Patrol, but this Moffet sounded like the kinda guy who didn't always fight fair; and Gabrielle might not have been ready for what happened. Heck, I'm a black belt in karate, and _I_ wouldn't have wanted to tangle with this Moffet character...at least, not if I didn't know that Hawke and Dom had the Lady watching my back.

Don't take it that I'm disrespecting Gabrielle. I know how much Hawke loved her, and how important she was to him, and all that, but sometimes cops, or agents like her, are sent into a situation and not prepared for the type of opposition they face; and _that's_ what got Gabrielle killed, not the fact that she was in love with Hawke. _But if I know Dom,_ I remembered thinking to myself, _he's already told String that—a few _**thousand**_ times, at least. Actually, knowin' Dom like I do, he's probably told String that a few thousand times **per day**, now that I think about it._

Oh, yeah. There's one other big counter to all this argument about a curse—when my plane got hijacked when I was flyin' back to Texas for Erin's wedding. If I _hadn't _known Hawke and Dom when that happened, I wouldn't be talkin' about this today, except maybe to St. Peter, because I'd be _dead._ Either drowned, suffocated, or blasted into a million pieces, along with the rest of the crew and passengers on that plane. And, there's been other times when Hawke's saved my life, too; especially after that affair with Carter Anderson III, when I was flyin' him to a meeting, and the plane we were in was almost shot down by Robert Villers, who just so happened to be my boyfriend at the time. H mph. Now, I see he was only getting close to me to find out when I'd be flyin' Anderson to that meeting. I guess there was a bounty on Anderson, or somethin' like that. Anyway, Hawke saved my butt that time, too. Not to mention what happened with Dom's niece Holly, shortly after I arrived here. I still remember, just before Holly and I got into the helicopter to fly up to String's cabin, she told me that she and Hawke made love, and I gotta admit, that rubbed me the wrong way. 'Course, I know now that Holly was goofy as a pet coon. I heard that on TV once, I think, and that she might have been lyin' about her and Hawke sleeping together. I sure hoped she was. But from the way she talked, I got the feelin' that Holly saw me as some kind of threat between her and String, and when we were nearing an Air Force security zone, just as I radioed that we'd cut the corner, Holly pulled a gun on me and ordered me to fly straight ahead through the zone—which I knew would get us both killed, 'cause the Air Force would try to shoot us down. And they did, sending two F-15s up to bring the helicopter down. But Hawke saved my butt that time, too, with the help of Airwolf. 'Course, I got away from some of the rockets that those F-15s were shootin' at us without Hawke's help, and nobody helped me pull the Jet Ranger outta that spin after Holly and I fought over her pistol and I knocked her out. Not to mention the fact that _I'm _the one who rescued Hawke from Horn—and beat the snot outta him before I injected him with the antidote. I mean, when I think about it, String's objections to getting closer to me looked pretty stupid, at least to me, considering the evidence. _Now, if we could just get **String** to see that,_ I said to myself.

But knowing Dom like I do, I'm sure he's tried to get String to understand all that any number of times, and any number of different ways. _I've just gotta be patient,_ I thought when I went to bed that night. _He'll figure it out, eventually._

Finally, a few weeks after we'd brought Hawke back, Dom and I were alone in the hangar one day—Hawke was off scouting a location for a shoot, so I figured it might be a good time to talk with him about String...problem was, I didn't know what I was gonna say. But Dom broached the subject, and I responded the only way I could—with the truth. 'Course, Dom ended up finishing my sentence for me, but he got the idea—that I loved String—and not in the way two good friends love each other. I mean, I love Hawke that way too, and he loves me the same way, but I _also_ love Stringfellow Hawke like, like a woman loves a man she wants to spend the rest of her life with, as his wife. And _that's_ the kinda love I wish he had for me—that he loved me like a man loves his wife.

And, there's nothing I'd like more than to be Mrs. Stringfellow Hawke...although, the way things are right now, I feel like the Cowboys have a better chance of goin' back to the Super Bowl in my lifetime than I do of actually getting to marry Hawke. But I can sure hope, and dream. Which I have, practically every night since that kiss on the movie set, and some of the things I've dreamed about have _gotta _be illegal. At least, illegal back in Texas. Here in California, that's another bowl of cherries entirely, I've got a funny feeling.

When I told Dom that I wondered if Hawke had slept with Angelica, I wasn't sure how he'd react...but I think he kinda figured out what I was thinkin'—after all, I did call 'dibs' on Angelica when we were chasing them...and that's not the sort of thing that people do normally. But Dom wasn't near as surprised as I thought he'd be when I said that I'd been thinking about Hawke sleeping with Angelica, and Dom told me that Hawke might not remember one way or another, but that Dom would try askin' Hawke about it, at least. And to be honest, that's all I could've asked Dom to do, anyway. Then, Dom said that everything he and I had talked about with regards to Hawke would stay between us—and, I had to admit, I was relieved to hear that. I know String thinks of Dom as his surrogate father, and tells Dom just about everything. I was just hopin' that he didn't expect Dom to reciprocate, and I was danged glad Dom said he'd keep my secret, 'cause that would just be _so _embarrassing, especially if String didn't love me the same way that I love him.

Don't ask me why, but when I got to the hangar the next day, I had a feeling. Like something was going to be different today, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I really hate feelin' like that, 'specially when there ain't a danged thing I can do about it. I'd finally just about resigned myself to another dreary, dull day, and then, I heard the chopper comin' in. _Easy, stomach,_ I said to myself, wishing I hadn't had that bowl of cereal this morning. _Don't turn over. Easy does it. Just act like today's any other day. _Then I realized—_that's the problem._ The helicopter finally landed, and after they shut the engine off, Dom and String got out, and I did a double take, feeling like I was gonna faint. String was _smiling, _a full-blown, ear-to-ear smile that made him, if it was humanly possible, even more attractive than I think he already is.

Then, he said, "'Mornin,' Cait." Just like that, and without me saying "good morning" to String first, or Dom havin' to _prompt _String to say it, like usually happens—usually by Dom givin' String a stiff elbow to the ribs, or somethin' like that—and then I realized, he was smiling at _me_. _What is going on with him?_ I asked myself, even as I tried to make sure I didn't faint. Then, I realized I should answer him, and I stammered, "'Mornin', Hawke." I think my tone of voice gave away my shock at what had just happened, 'cause Hawke turned to me, gently laid his hand on my shoulder, and said, "Cait? You okay?" And I could tell Dom was just as confused about events as I was.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Hawke," I finally said. "Just a little surprised. You don't usually say 'good morning' first, y'know." _I could count the number of times he's done that on one hand, and still have fingers left over,_ I said to myself. But for the rest of the day, I noticed strange things beginning to happen. Hawke couldn't seem to stop smiling, especially at me; and if I didn't love him so danged much, that woulda made me nervous as all get out, but since I did, I didn't mind. Then, just before he and Dom climbed into the helicopter to fly back to the cabin, String took off his shades, looked me dead in the eye and said, "See you in the mornin', Caitlin." Again with that wonderful smile of his. I asked myself, _Okay. Who the hell is this guy? I mean, he looks like String, and he talks like String, but he sure as heck ain't **acting **like String—at least, not the String I know—and love, _I said to myself.

"'Night, String," I said. I resolved as I watched the helicopter fly away that I'd use his first name a lot more often. I mean, 'Hawke' sounds like I'm ticked off at him, not like, I'm in love with him, which by now, I knew I was. _As if I ever doubted it before, _I thought. I had fallen harder for Stringfellow Hawke than I did for Robert or any other guy I've ever dated, including guys back in high school. But, if I hadn't known it the day he smiled at me when I first came to the hangar, I knew it then—One way or the other, I was gonna spend the rest of my life with Stringfellow Hawke. And, Dom has mentioned that he hopes there'll be someone around to take care of String after he dies, _and I'd love to **be **that someone, as Mrs. Stringfellow Hawke,_ I thought, even though I knew the odds of that happening were extremely slim. And as I climbed into bed that night, I remembered how I'd been feelin' like things would be different—_I guess they were different,_ I said to myself as I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep. And I had to admit, seein' String's smiling face—in my mind, as I closed my eyes—only helped me fall asleep that much quicker.

The next day, while String was off doin' that shoot, Dom asked me if I'd meant what he _thought _I meant when I called dibs on Angelica. I said that I did—that I was jealous, because I thought she and Hawke had slept together. _'Cause I want Hawke for myself,_ I remember thinking. Oh, I don't doubt that I wouldn't be his, first, if you know what I mean, but he'd certainly be mine; if it ever happens between us, that is. All the same, I couldn't help remembering how I'd been laying on top of String back at Horn's compound, crying when I thought he was dead. _I'm sure glad he didn't see me on top of him like that,_ I said to myself, knowing what it would have looked like to anyone who might have seen us—_or to String, if I hadn't noticed he was waking up. _I suddenly felt a moist warmth rising from inside me, and I knew _exactly _what it was. _Oh, my God! _I said to myself, hoping that my face didn't betray the sudden rush of hormones I was feeling.

Over the course of the next few days, I gotta admit, I was paranoid—I mean, things had gone well for a while, but I know String—he can flip and go back into full-blown silent mode at any moment. But that seemed to be the last thing on his mind...he was being more and more affectionate every day. I couldn't help but wonder what the heck Dom had said to him, but then I thought, _Maybe he's just finally acknowledging the 800-pound gorilla in the hangar, his feelings about me. And maybe, just **maybe, **he finally realizes that it'd be okay to love me, the way I love him. _All I knew was—that smile looked like it needed to be _surgically removed. _Well, I also knew one other thing—I wouldn't dream of suggesting it.

Finally, a few weeks after String started paying me more attention, I hit a jackpot—he actually asked me out for a date! But I have to admit that I was so shocked by him even askin' me, that I almost blew it. As soon as he asked, my eyes filled with tears, like I was upset, and String said, "Cait, we don't have to. I mean..." I knew I had to do somethin', so I wiped my eyes as quick as I could, then smiled up at him, and said, "No, String. I want to. Believe me, I want to—I'm—I'm just really happy right now, okay?" He hesitated, then smiled and nodded, and I excused myself for a minute to go retouch my makeup...and when I came back, I was absolutely _beaming. _And, I think that helped String relax. I have to admit, when String opened the passenger side door of the Jeep for me, I was surprised, but I realized that must've been somethin' his dad, or Dom; or maybe _both of 'em, _taught him to do—and bein' an old-fashioned Southern gal at heart, I sure as heck wasn't gonna argue about it. _'Cause Daddy always said that a real gentleman should hold doors open for his lady,_ I said to myself, but then I caught myself—_I'm not really String's lady, yet. But, maybe that's gonna change tonight._

It was simple, but romantic—he took me out for dinner after work one Friday night. I told String as we walked into the restaurant that there were some things I'd been wanting to tell him—mainly, that I was sick and tired of waitin' around for him to figure his feelings out about me—but he told me that he had some things to tell me, too, and he started out by saying that he'd been thinking about 'us.' And that startled me—_'cause as far as I can tell, there is no 'us', _I remembered thinking to myself, even though I wanted there to be, more than I've wanted anything for a long time. Finally, String said he was tired of runnin' from his feelings about me. And when I asked how he _did_ feel about me, he said—he said that he _loved me. _I remember not bein' quite sure I'd heard him right, and I asked him what he said, and he repeated himself. String told me he _loved me, _and that he'd loved me for a long time. So what else could I say but that I loved him, too, and that I'd been waiting a long time for him to say that. Not long after that, Hawke asked me what I wanted to tell him, and I hesitated for a beat, 'cause most of what I wanted to tell him was that I was sick and tired of waitin' on him to figure out his feelings for me, and that I was gonna go home...to Texas. But when String said, "_Caitlin, I love you. And I have for a long time," _I got so excited that I completely forgot everything else on my mind, and, to be perfectly honest, it just didn't matter anymore. I mean, I know that I shoulda been angry as all get out that Hawke had been denying us the chance to be together for so long, but I, I just couldn't. Guess the fact that I love him so danged much won out. I finally told String that most of what I wanted to say didn't matter anymore, but I added, "I guess the only thing I have to say, now, is—I love you, String. Don't ever forget that."

String just smiled and said, "I won't—on one condition." And I got nervous again. "Condition?" I asked him, sweetly.

He said, "Yeah. That you don't forget that I love you, too." _Yeah, right. Like that's every gonna happen,_ I said to myself as I sighed with relief. _Now that I know String loves me the same way I love him, I'll never forget that,_ I thought happily.

We finished dinner and headed back for the hangar so I could go home, and as we were on our way back, String asked me what I was thinkin' that day after the hijacking, when Dom made that comment about my future. I said, "Well, String," and I have to admit, I was kinda embarrassed, "I have to admit—I wasn't exactly sure what you were thinkin' at that moment...and, I was embarrassed 'cause of what Dom did. I didn't know what you were gonna do, and, it scared me a little." I was still unsure what String might say, or do, after hearing that, but he calmly pulled the Jeep off one side of the road, and after he'd shut off the engine, he said, "I'm sorry, Cait. I didn't mean to scare you. I guess I was kind of shocked at what Dom was hinting at, or at least, what I _thought_ he was hinting at, and I didn't know what to do, so I did what I usually do in situations like that, and just kept quiet. But," he said, grinning at me, "that's all academic now, isn't it?" I sighed with relief and said, "It sure is, String. It sure is." Then, I leaned over and kissed him.

We finally got back to the hangar, and I got ready to go home, and Dom got ready to take String back to the cabin—but I've gotta admit something—when String kissed me good-night back at the hangar, before I went home, I was wishin' he'd come back to my place, or take me up to the cabin with him—'_cause those desires I felt a couple of days ago are back_. _But, _I realized, _there'll be time for that later. _

I gotta admit, I didn't get a lick of sleep that weekend, and Dom noticed it on Monday. Fortunately, we didn't have a lot of work to do, so Dom closed the hangar down early, and I went home and crashed after having a small dinner. I slept clean until the alarm woke me up Tuesday morning, and wound up missing two phone calls—one from Erin, and one from Mom. All I could think when I heard their voices was, _I know somethin' you don't know._ But, I also knew that I'd be tellin' them about me and String before long. Heck, Mom had been arguing with me to forget all about String and come home, practically ever since the hijacking. Well, I finally got around to callin' Mom back, and Erin was at the ranch with Mom, too. And let's just say I'm surprised I can still hear after tellin' Mom and Erin that Hawke had finally come around to our way of thinking—I've only heard screams like that either during an Airwolf mission, or when Erin and I were kids on Christmas morning. Actually, Mom's screams sounded more like the Christmas morning screams Mom and Daddy used to hear from me and Erin, after we found that Santa had visited during the night. I promised Mom that I'd let String know that she was happy that String and I were finally together, and I made a mental note to myself—_Before you announce that you're getting married, or __that you're __pregnant, make sure you and String both have earplugs. _

And later that morning, when Dom and String got to the hangar, I hugged him harder than I've ever hugged anybody in my life, and when I let him go, I was embarrassed at the intensity of the embrace, and told him, "Sorry about that, but part of that was from Mom." I could see him get real nervous, and I didn't blame him—Hawke had heard some of the discussion/arguments I've had with Mom about him, at least, _my side _of those discussions/arguments, and I'm sure he was worried about how Mom would react to finding out that we were finally together. String asked what else Mom had to say, and I told him, "Oh, just that she's real happy, no, make that _ecstatic_ that you finally saw sense about me." _And Mom's not the only one,_ I said to myself as I kissed String again. Ever since String told me he'd finally decided to quit runnin' from his feelings about me, life is just about perfect.

I had finally settled into the idea that Hawke and I were a couple. At long last, we were together the way I'd wished we would be ever since I met String, and I was loving every minute of it. But after a couple of months, my thoughts about becoming Mrs. Stringfellow Hawke began surfacing again...and I started wondering—_What are the odds of Dallas makin' the Super Bowl this year?_ But nothing happened, until one night about four months after we officially got together.

Instead of going out somewhere with Hawke like I was used to doing, I was surprised when he led me over to one of Dom's choppers and we climbed in. Once we were in the air, I quickly realized we were headed to the cabin. "What's goin' on here, String?" I demanded, but the only answer I got was the stony silence that I hadn't experienced since I first met him. _What is he doing,_ I asked myself.

My confusion only grew when we got to the cabin and I found Dom, Erin, and Mom up there waiting for us. When I asked them what was going on, all they could tell me was that Dom told _them _it was a surprise. _Okay, now I'm really confused, and worried,_ I remembered anxiously thinking as we went inside. Dom had cooked up a huge pot of spaghetti with marinara sauce, along with plenty of garlic bread, and I tried more than once during dinner to get String to tell me what was goin' on in his head, but he wouldn't say a word.

At least, not until after dinner. String sat me down on the couch, after Dom made sure we all had a glass of champagne, which really surprised the heck out of me. Then, just like I'd been hoping, and praying, and _dreaming_ that he'd do, he pulled a maroon and gold velvet box out of the pocket of his jacket, got down on one knee, and after opening the box to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring, he said, "Caitlin O'Shannessy, will you marry me?"

Right then, I couldn't say a word, because I felt like my heart was tryin' to jump out of my throat—I'd begun thinkin' that I'd only hear those words—String askin' me to marry him—in my dreams at night—but he'd just asked me, for real. Finally, after several seconds, I wiped the tears out of my eyes and said, "God, _yes! Yes, _Stringfellow Hawke, I will marry you!" He smiled as he slipped the ring onto my finger and pulled me up onto my feet...and then, he kissed me like I've never been kissed before, even better than the one from the movie set...or the one after our first date. Of course, as soon as we separated, which as far as I'm concerned was way too quick, Erin, Mom and Dominic all offered their congratulations to both me and String; and Mom even apologized to String for all the nasty things she and Erin ever said about him. String simply smiled and told Mom that he didn't blame her for how she felt—after all, String said, he'd been being incredibly stupid for a long time, and Mom was just telling me, and by extension, String, how she felt. I have to admit, hearing String accept my mom's apologies so graciously just reminded me once again why I loved him so much. _Amazing what a little diamond engagement ring and __a marriage__ proposal will do, ain't it? _I remembered asking myself later. I was actually surprised Mom didn't scream when String proposed, until she told me, just before Dom took her and Erin back to the hangar, how shocked she was. _Yeah, you, me, and the rest of us, except String, _I thought excitedly. _Somebody pinch me,_ I thought, _'cause I have got to be dreaming!_

Later that evening, when I saw Dom getting ready to take Mom and Erin back to the hangar so they could catch a cab back to their hotel, I have to admit that I almost went with them to go home myself, but something stopped me. I knew, now that I was engaged to String, that I didn't want to be away from him that night. _Good thing I left that overnight bag up here a few weeks ago,_ I said to myself, knowing that I had a couple days' worth of clothes here at the cabin, _just in case. _I still remember the knowing glances we got from Dom, Erin, and my mother after I said I wanted to stay at the cabin with String, as if they knew what was about to happen. And I gotta admit, I was embarrassed as all get out—not because I _didn't _know what Mom, Erin, and Dom were thinking—but, because I knew _exactly _what they were thinking was going to happen—because it was exactly what _I _was thinking, and _hoping, _was gonna happen. As Mom, Erin, and Dom walked out of the cabin, String turned to me and said, "Was there a reason you wanted to stay here tonight, Cait?"

I simply moved closer to him, pressed my body against his, and said, "String. Don't ask stupid questions." I couldn't help but think of somethin' Daddy once told me: _'The only stupid question is the one you never ask.' But,_ I thought, _that question comes pretty doggoned close. _ As soon as the helicopter disappeared from sight, I kissed String again, and poured every ounce of my love, and my _desire, _for him into it. Finally, he separated us and said, "Cait, if this isn't what you want, you tell me, right now." I have to admit—I was a little confused as to why String hesitated, but then it hit me like a Hellfire missile fired from the Lady—_I told String about Bogan's boys almost raping me—no wonder he's hesitating,_ I said to myself. I gotta admit, knowing that String was takin' my feelings into consideration like that just made me love him—and _want him—_that much more.

"String," I said, fixing him with my most seductive grin, "shut up, take me upstairs, and make love to me. _Now. Right now."_ And without another word, String finally proceeded to do precisely what I'd told him.

I told String I wanted to move into the cabin, permanently, the next day, and we had everything taken care of that afternoon. After spending one night wrapped in the arms of the man I loved, I knew I didn't want to sleep alone again, _ever. _And I finally asked him why he hesitated so much that first night—and he confirmed what I'd suspected—he didn't want to bring back any bad memories from what Bogan's boys tried to do to me. And I did the best I could to reassure him that any memories I might have from those days were long dead and buried. _But like I thought before—__knowin' String__ took my feelings into consideration like that just makes me love String that much more—if that's humanly possible—_I said to myself, _'cause I already love him with __my entire heart and soul_. And, I couldn't wait until the day I could finally call myself Mrs. Stringfellow Hawke.

**Two Months Later...**

_I can't believe this is happening,_ I said to myself as Mom fixed my hair after we had all gotten dressed for my wedding. _I'm gonna marry String. I'm finally gonna be Mrs. Stringfellow Hawke._ I couldn't help but think about Daddy, and how I wished he coulda been here to walk me down the aisle...but then I remembered, I'd asked Dom to do it, and since he wouldn't ever get the chance with his own daughter, Sally Ann, he was more than happy to stand in Daddy's place and do this for String and me. And besides, Dom's been like a father to me ever since I came to California lookin' for String, not to mention bein' my biggest fan, especially when it came to getting together with String.

String told me after we got engaged about how his older brother Saint John had finally come home—it turned out he'd been busted out of the POW camp right near the time that the "war" ended, but got approached by a division of the CIA to work in "hotspots" around the world—not too different from what Dom, String and I do for Michael's FIRM. Since String and Dom probably thought Saint John was already dead, he hadn't seen the harm in it. But then, agents from the FIRM finally caught up with Saint John and convinced him that his services were no longer required, so he came home. String was happy to see the brother that he'd thought was lost forever, but I could tell there was some resentment over Saint John's decision. Not that I blamed String for bein' upset at Saint John. I mean, if Erin had ever pulled a stunt like that, I'd probably have whupped the daylights out of her, and then, Mom woulda done it again. But, Dom and I finally got String to understand why Saint John did what he did, and they made their peace about a month before String proposed to me, so Saint John's standing with String today as his best man, while Erin's my maid of honor. She woulda killed me if I'd had anybody else do it, I don't have any doubts. Or at least, she woulda _tried _to kill me. After all, she taught me almost everything I know about hand-to-hand combat, with the police academy filling in the gaps. So it woulda been a lot more of a fair fight than when she and I were teenagers.

Now, finally, almost two years after I met him, String and I are together, forever. Some people might give me a little grief over getting married so soon after "officially" getting together with String...and actually, Mom tried, but I simply pointed out that String and I were "unofficially" together for almost a year and a half before this all happened, so it all averaged out.

As String and I went to bed that night, our first night as husband and wife, I couldn't believe how my life had changed in the short time since I came to California. And as I felt String's arms around me as I fell asleep, I knew, just like I'd promised myself that first day he smiled at me, that I'd spend the rest of my life with him. _And I'll enjoy every second of it,_ I said to myself as I snuggled tighter against my husband. _Thank you, Stringfellow Hawke, for making me the happiest woman in the world, and for making me your wife._ I felt a few tears escape my eyes, but I didn't care, because they were happy tears, because my dreams had finally come true.


	3. Chapter 3

_Through My Eyes, Chap. 3_

_Disclaimer – _Don't own 'em, not making any money...just having a little playdate.

A/N—Another chapter that wasn't planned...but was generated due to the voices talking and comments from other readers, and this chapter closes out this little story arc. Hope you enjoy it—robertwnielsen

"_Cait?"_ I mumbled when I regained consciousness in my room at John Bradford Horn's compound. I wondered why she appeared to be crying, but I resolved I'd have to ask her about it at some point.

I really didn't know what had happened to bring Caitlin into my room at Horn's compound, until some time later. Apparently, she, Dom and Archangel decided to mount a rescue mission after seeing the video tape that I'd sent for Dom, describing the reasons for my abduction—Horn was looking to add Airwolf to his private collection—and to help install him as absolute dictator of an island nation. The plan was simple—Dom and I would go in and neutralize the island's defenses, then radio a squadron of Horn's planes, which were orbiting out of range of the defensive emplacements, which would then move in and finish the operation.

From what Caitlin's told me, she came into my room right after Horn's daughter Angelica walked out. I don't know whether they saw each other or not—and I have a bad feeling I don't _want _to know. Don't get me wrong—I don't remember sleeping with Angelica, or anything like that—yeah, I remember we kissed a few times...a little making out on top of my bed, but nothing intimate—nothing that Kelly's dad never caught us doing on a Friday night at her house. But when I turned around and saw Caitlin standing in front of me—I didn't _know _it was her, thanks to the drugs that had been used on me—and I reacted out of fear, anger, and paranoia.

"_SPY!"_ I shouted, and attacked her. We scuffled for a few minutes, until she kicked me square in the gut—I still have an imprint of the boots she was wearing on my chest, even now, almost a week and a half later. Then, I charged again, and that's when I felt the needle jab into my gut—and that's the last thing I remember, until I woke up and saw Caitlin staring at me, eyes red and puffy from crying. Later, I found out that Caitlin had injected me with a drug that Michael had given her, that counteracted whatever chemicals Horn had used on me—but, it also knocked me out for a short time—so _far out, _in fact, that Caitlin thought that I was dead. _Which,_ I remembered thinking after she told me about it, _would account for the tears. She thought she'd killed me. Just like I thought—I'd killed Dom._

That was actually the first thing I thought of after I regained consciousness—I remembered firing three rounds from a pistol I'd been carrying into Dom's chest, and I thought he was dead—and that I'd killed him. _"NO!" Caitlin shouted, trying to get my attention. "He's in a cell here—your gun was filled with tranquilizers! He's all right! I've seen him! I've seen him!" _

"_Hawke. Who is this guy Horn?" _Caitlin asked. I was still trying to shake the effects of whatever Horn had used to brainwash me, but I felt myself getting stronger all the time, and hearing that Dom was still alive only helped matters.

"_It was all over the news. He bilked billions with—high-rises that didn't get built, and oil wells that didn't get drilled, and government contracts that didn't get filled, and I don't know."_

"_The government had him under a grand jury indictment," Caitlin finished, and I nodded. "What does he want with you?" Caitlin asked._

"_An Airwolf mission," I said, shaking my head again. Sighing, I said, "We gotta find a way. We gotta find a way to get us all outta this."_

_Caitlin replied, "We will," and in spite of everything, I saw something in her eyes, like she knew everything was going to be okay._

The next morning, bright and early, I got my final mission briefing from Horn and lifted off in Airwolf, alone. I had no idea where Dom was, but Caitlin had assured me that she'd rescue him—I just had to get us all out of this. I flew for a few minutes on the heading that Horn had programmed into Airwolf's navigational computer, then, I activated the weapons systems and turned back towards Horn's compound, firing a Hellfire missile both to get his attention, and to let Caitlin know that the rescue operation was underway.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, I alternated fire between Airwolf's 30mm chain guns and Hellfire missiles, creating a series of fireballs around the compound. Then, I saw Caitlin and Dom running from the compound, so I stopped the missile firings and proceeded to lay down a barrage of cover fire from my cannons, to allow Caitlin and Dom to get back to Airwolf.

A few minutes later, we were in the air again, Dom back at the engineering console, and Caitlin in the countermeasure specialist's chair. I had a score to settle with Horn, and I didn't want either Dom or Caitlin involved.

"_I'll handle this. Stay out of it," I ordered. "Horn's _**mine."**

"_I've got dibs on Angelica," Caitlin said from the countermeasure specialist's chair. In the short time I've known Caitlin O'Shannessy, I have _**never **_heard her voice sound so cold—and it made me wonder what Angelica had done that had Caitlin so upset. _**But, **_I reasoned, _**there'll be time for that later. ****A****fter we find them.**

It didn't take long for us to find the car that Horn was using to attempt to escape the compound, and I fired a couple of Hellfire missiles into their path, causing the car to stop short. Once we'd set Airwolf down, all three of us approached the car with our service weapons drawn. I opened the driver's side door and found the chauffeur, dead from a single bullet wound to the head. Caitlin opened the passenger side door, and Dom opened the trunk, but we found no one else inside the car.

"_Where'd they go?" Dom demanded._

"_Horn's gonna show up again," I said, surveying the scene, "and when he does"—_

"_And the daughter!" Caitlin shouted, angrily. "Remember, she's mine!"_

"_Well, we'd better notify the authorities," Dom said. "Let's go!" _We all lowered our weapons and got back aboard Airwolf, calling the authorities to dispose of the car and chauffeur.

Over the course of the next few weeks, with help from Michael, Dom, and Caitlin, I began piecing together what had happened—Angelica had evidently drugged me while we were out together one evening, which allowed Horn to take me to his compound and administer a type of brainwashing on me—a combination of drugs, light, and sound that reprogrammed my mind, and allowed Horn's "doctors" to give me an entirely new personality. From what Michael told me during debriefings, I was an extremely lucky man—almost a third of the tests on the drugs that brought me back had ended with the test subject dying. _But,_ I remembered saying to Archangel, _that means two-thirds of them didn't die._

All the same, I kept thinking about the way Caitlin had looked at me when I came to in my room—she looked like she'd been crying her eyes out for hours, but of course, I had no way of knowing how long I'd been brainwashed, or how long I'd lain unconscious before I finally came out of it. And there seemed to be something in her eyes—something that said she was happy that I was alive, for more reasons than just the fact that we're close, good friends. And then, there was what she said aboard Airwolf—_I've got dibs on Angelica, _and what she said after we found the limo—_And the daughter! Remember, she's mine!_ I decided that sometime, I'd have to ask Caitlin about why she said that. But something told me I _didn't _want to know.

And Dom told me what Cait said to him in the limo, when he said he would deliver Airwolf to Horn alone. _"Dom, don't do that to me. I care about him, too, you know. Probably more than you know."_ Now I have to admit—hearing _that _from Dom worried me—I was worried that Cait was in love with me, I mean. Why else would she have said something like that to Dom, for Pete's sake?

Don't get me wrong—Caitlin O'Shannessy is a very attractive woman. I mean, I've seen the way other men have looked at her—and on more than one occasion, it's made me jealous. But I can't think of her that way—not with the curse that I have on me.

Ever since I was twelve years old, when my parents were killed in a boating accident, I've felt like anyone I've loved—or anyone I _might love,_ will die. And events haven't changed that perception in my mind—first, I lost my parents in that boating accident—then, right before my brother Saint John and I were supposed to ship out for Vietnam, my girlfriend Kelly and I were in an accident—and she died. Then, Saint John and I went down on the same mission—except Saint John didn't get picked up, and he's been an MIA for nearly 16 years—I remember Michael telling me, after I recovered Airwolf, that the odds against Saint John still being alive were ten-thousand to one.

Finally, of course, there was Gabrielle Ademaur, the pilot who first flew Archangel up to the cabin two years ago, to tell me about the theft of Airwolf. She stayed behind at the cabin after Michael left, and we quickly became lovers. I still remember the day Dom came up to the cabin and met her.

"_String, if you don't teach that mutt to keep outta my way, so help me, I'm gonna land on him!" Dom had said as he walked through the front door of the cabin with a box of groceries and other supplies._

"_Well, you know I've never been one to tell anybody where to land," I said with a smile, giving Dom a friendly slap on the back._

"_You coulda given me a hand," Dom said._

"_He's not big on helping hands...but I am," Gabrielle said, pulling on her sweater as she came downstairs from the sleeping loft. _I remember Dom staring at her in shock, as if he wondered what we'd been doing up there. Then, when we went out to the canyon that eventually became Airwolf's Lair, I remember Dom saying, _"I like her, String. A little skinny, maybe, but I _**like her.**_"_

"_Well, she'll be thrilled to hear that," I said._

"_Yeah, but don't tell her the skinny part," _Dom said. I think Dom was already imagining us getting married, which, I'll be perfectly honest, was something I'd thought about, too.

But Gabrielle wound up becoming another victim of the curse, when Michael sent her to Libya to help Dom and me recover Airwolf, after Moffet stole her. Dom still blames himself for Gabrielle's death, saying that if he'd figured out Airwolf's scanners faster, maybe we could have gotten to Gabrielle in time to save her. It's a moot point, now, but I can understand where Dom's coming from. But I've told Dom over and over again—I don't blame him for what happened, I blame Moffet, pure and simple. Of course, Dom turns my words around on me every chance he gets—saying that Gabrielle would've been killed even if we weren't seeing each other, that Moffet probably didn't even _know_ we were lovers, which I suppose is true—but it doesn't change my feelings.

Which brings me back to Caitlin—I won't deny it, like I said before—she's a beautiful woman, and I've grown very fond of her, but I can't think of her in terms of a girlfriend, or anything else like that. Even though, as Dom has pointed out to me over, and over again, Caitlin's a pretty tough gal—last year, during the Carter Anderson affair, when she was flying Anderson to a meeting and her plane got ambushed by Robert Villers, flying an old, WWII-vintage Corsair, Caitlin had been able to evade some of Villers' rockets all by herself—which was a good thing, considering that Airwolf's number 2 engine had been giving us problems, and we were lucky to shoot Villers down and escape. We knew Cait was dating Villers, but didn't know he was the one attacking her, until I brought his Corsair down and we heard his voice over the radio.

"_I'll see ya, Cait. That's a good show, fellas." I didn't recognize the voice...but Caitlin did._

"_Robert?" Caitlin called out, and Dom and I could hear the fear and sadness in her voice. Caitlin had seen Villers' Corsair headed for the deck, and when there was a small explosion a few seconds later, she knew he was dead. _

I have to admit, I wished to hell I hadn't had to do that—but we didn't have a choice. It was either shoot Villers down, or Villers would have shot Caitlin's plane down...and might have had a chance to bring Airwolf down, too, considering the problems we had with Airwolf's number 2 engine.

Not only that, but there was the incident with Holly Matthews a few months prior to the Anderson affair—Dom and I had rescued Holly from a man named Ahrens, who she told us was holding her prisoner. Unfortunately, Holly was crazy—and she saw Caitlin as a threat, and tried to kill her three separate times—first, she sabotaged a helicopter that Caitlin was flying for a movie stunt, and the cyclic had jammed—Cait was lucky she brought that chopper down in one piece. But not too long before that, Caitlin and I shared a kiss as part of the movie, and when I thought about it later, I realized that seeing Caitlin kiss me might have been what made Holly snap. Later, Holly sent herself a tarantula in the mail, and Ahrens made mention of that when we confronted him. Not in those exact words, but he said, _"She even sent herself a dead cat once in the mail!"_ That got Dom's and my attention, since the tarantula incident had only just occurred.

Then Caitlin was flying up to the cabin with Holly, and Holly pulled a gun on Cait, and forced her to fly through an Air Force security zone—and the chopper was almost shot down by F-15's that were scrambled from a nearby Air Force base. But once again, just like during the Anderson affair, Caitlin evaded some of the missiles without Airwolf's help. Plus, after she knocked Holly out, the chopper went into a flat spin...but Cait was able to get control back just before they augured in.

And, Holly almost killed Dom, too—she sabotaged a helicopter that Caitlin was going to take to the cabin, but Cait had to go back into the office for her map case, and she asked Dom to crank the chopper up, and when Cait came back out, the chopper was on fire—Dom only escaped by the skin of his teeth, when Cait came out of the office and shouted that the chopper was burning—and it exploded a few seconds after Dom escaped. _But,_ I remembered thinking to myself later, _he did escape._

Dom's tried his best to get me to understand how tough Cait is—over, and over, and _over_ again...and, I hate to admit it, but I'm finally beginning to see it. I mean, it took a lot of guts for her to stow away in the missile compartment aboard Airwolf and get into Horn's compound, then come to find me, and I still remember when she kicked me in the chest. I saw the reminder of it every night for two weeks after I was rescued, when I got undressed for bed—the mark of her combat boot, imprinted on my chest. I have to admit, she's a lot better hand-to-hand fighter than I am. _Not to mention what she told that guy on the plane,_ I said to myself, remembering how Cait had told us about a guy being extremely rude to her when she was flying back to Texas for her sister's wedding. Finally, Cait decided she'd had enough of the guy, and said, _"Do you know karate?"_ And when the guy said no, Cait told him,_ "I give free samples."_ And it was one of those "free samples" that had left that boot print on my chest.

Then one day, I had to do a little scouting for a shoot we had coming up—the production company that hired us had their own helicopter pilot, so all I'd have to do would be work the camera for a while—even though I would have just as soon been the one doing the flying—but I figured Cait and Dom wouldn't even need to get involved. _Piece of cake,_ I remembered saying to myself as I drove back to the hangar. When I got there, I found Caitlin and Dom outside, both looking very serious about something.

"What's with all the long faces?" I asked.

"Nothing, String," Dom said, smiling at me. "Well, it's about closing time, so let's button this place up and get outta here, huh?" Dom hurried to finish the last few things he'd been working on and shut the hangar down, then we got into a chopper so Dom could fly me up to the cabin.

"So, everything look good for the shoot?" Dom asked me.

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "I can handle it myself. You and Caitlin don't even need to get involved." Then, I turned serious. Something had been bothering Dom ever since I got back, and I wanted to know what. "You got something else on your mind, Dom?" I asked, and I have to admit, I think Dom was a little worried.

"Nah," Dom said. "Just a little worried about the location, that's all."

"Sure, Dom. Whatever you say," I said with a shake of my head, then added, "Hey...what were you and Caitlin talking about when I came back?"

"Nothing important," Dom said. _Aha. Right. And I'm Charles Lindbergh,_ I said to myself.

"You sure?" I asked. "Sure looked like it was important from where I stood...I haven't seen you two look that serious in a long time."

"String," Dom said, and I suddenly got the impression Dom was trying to keep a secret, "it's nothing, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Dom," I replied, and I hoped Dom could tell by the tone of my voice that I wasn't convinced. By that time, we'd arrived at the cabin, and Dom set the chopper on the dock so I could get out.

"See ya in the mornin', String!" Dom shouted, waving at me.

"G'night, Dom!" I called back, smiling as I stepped back to allow the helicopter to lift off and head back towards Van Nuys. I watched until the helicopter disappeared from sight, then walked back into the cabin, still trying to figure out what Dom had on his mind. _No doubt it's about Caitlin, and me,_ I said to myself as I grilled a trout for dinner.

That night, when I went to sleep, I couldn't help remembering Caitlin's expression when I'd come around at Horn's compound...and the kiss on the movie set. _But, we were only pretending! I __thought._

_Maybe you thought you were only pretending,_ a voice in my head seemed to be saying, _but evidently Holly thought different. That's part of the reason she went nuts, you know._ I had to admit that the voice had a point, even though Ahrens had said Holly was crazy from the time we found her. _And besides,_ the voice went on, _you know how tough Cait is. You can say that again, _I thought, wincing as I remembered how she kicked me in the gut just before she gave me the antidote. _Well,_ I said as sleep finally claimed me, _I'll figure it out, somehow._

The next day, while Cait and Dom worked around the office, I went to do that shoot, and once I'd settled myself behind the camera, I had time to think once again—and, once again, my thoughts seemed to be centering themselves on Caitlin. _Ah, it can't be, _I said to myself. _I can't be falling in love with her, can I? _The more I thought about it, the more I realized that, yes, despite my best intentions, I was falling in love with Caitlin. _N__ow,_ I said to myself, _I've just gotta figure out what I'm gonna do about it._

That night, after I got back to the hangar and Dom took me back to the cabin, he asked me, "String, when you were Horn's prisoner, did you and Angelica, you know," I was surprised at Dom's question, even more so when he didn't finish his sentence, but somehow, I had a feeling what he was asking me.

"Did we, sleep together, you mean?" I asked, and I saw Dom nod, sheepishly. _Okay. __T__hat was a pitch outta left field I wasn't expecting, _I remember thinking to myself. I thought about it for a few minutes, then replied, "Not, that I remember. I mean, I remember we kissed a couple of times. A little making out on top of my bed—nothin' that Kelly's dad never caught us doing on a Friday night at her parents' house, but I don't recall actually being _in _the bed with Angelica—and certainly not sleeping with her. Why would you ask me somethin' like that, anyway, Dom?"

From the look on Dom's face just then, I could tell he was remembering how many times Kelly's father had caught us making out on their couch—and in other places. Dom once told me that Kelly's dad had told _him _that I was damned lucky to still be alive—and I don't doubt it. But Dom simply said, "Well, Caitlin was kinda wondering about that. You remember when she called dibs on Angelica?"

"Yeah," I said, surprised at the direction the conversation was taking. "But why would Caitlin care whether Angelica and I slept together?"

"I dunno, String," Dom said, even though I got the feeling that Dom knew perfectly well why Caitlin cared about it. "Maybe, maybe she was worried about you. Or maybe it was somethin' else, I dunno. But, String, you can't tell me you've never noticed how attractive Cait is," Dom said.

"If I said I hadn't, you'd call me a liar, wouldn't you?" I asked him, surprised at yet another quick change of subject, and yet not surprised at all. I mean, I know Dom's been trying to get me to look at Caitlin as more than just a friend for a while now, and even though I'd never admit it to Dom, he _does_ have a point—he's not gonna be around forever, so he'd like to know that somebody's around to take care of me—and if that somebody happens to be Cait, it's all the better, at least as far as Dom's concerned.

"You're darned right I would, buddy boy," Dom said, smiling at me.

"Yeah, Dom. I have noticed," I said resignedly, then continued, "But, Dom. You know I can't think of Caitlin like that. I mean, she's my _friend,_ yeah; and I care about her like that, but you know it can't be more than that. Especially not with..." Suddenly, Dom lost it. Completely, totally _lost it._ Worse than he'd ever gotten angry at Saint John, or me. I was actually worried that he might lose control of the helicopter, and made sure I was ready to take control if that happened.

"Oh, for the love of God, String!" Dom shouted. "Doesn't the word _accident_ mean _anything to you? _I've looked over the reports on both your parents' accident and the one that killed Kelly, and so have you, and there was _nothing—__nothing, do you__ hear me, _about either of those that was your fault! Now, Gabrielle, fine. You wanna keep carrying the torch for her, that's your business, I guess; but lemme tell you this, String; and I know I've said it before, but this time, you're gonna listen to me, dammit! Moffet was _out of his mind. _A couple of bricks short of a full load, cuckoo as a Swiss clock, goofy as a pet coon, or whatever the hell other cute little phrases you wanna use. Do you really think he killed Gabrielle just because you two were seeing each other, for God's sake? I suppose that's why he killed Angela, all those people at Red Star, the crew on that Navy destroyer, not to mention those Mirage pilots. Guess those were all your fault, too, huh?"

"Besides which," Dom continued before I could say anything, "do we really know, one way or the other, that Saint John is dead?" He stopped at that point, and I have to admit, I was angry—how could Dom, who'd raised Saint John and me ever since our parents were killed, just gloss over Saint John's disappearance like that? Then I realized_—Dom's right. We DON'T know...one way or the other._ And that realization felt worse than Cait's kick to my gut, when I realized that I may have been pushing Caitlin away because of worry about something I knew next to nothing about.

I sighed and said, "Yeah, Dom, you're right. We don't know what's going on with Saint John." Dom quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and just as he was about to add something, I decided I had more to say, and continued.

"And, you're right about Moffet too. Gabrielle told me the same thing when I found her in that dressing room at the Red Castle. She told me that Moffet stole Airwolf and took her to Libya so he could do exactly what he wanted with women. And, there was no way he knew Gabrielle and I were seeing each other," I continued, and I had to wonder if Dom was thinking that I was coming around to their way of thinking—his and Caitlin's, that is. _Which, to be perfectly honest, I am,_ I said to myself. By this time, we'd arrived at the cabin, and just before I got out, Dom laid his hand on my shoulder and said, "String. I'm, I'm sorry for yelling at ya before. I shouldn't have done that."

"Well," I replied, "maybe. Then again, maybe that was somethin' I've needed to hear for a long time. I'll, I'll see ya in the mornin', Dom," I continued, opening the co-pilot's door and stepping out, closing the door behind me.

As I watched Dom flying away, I thought about everything Caitlin and I have been through; including several instances that could have killed her, including the ones I mentioned before, and yet, she survived. Every time, she survived. That night, when I went to sleep, I made myself a promise—_I'm going to see what happens with Cait. I'm, I'm going to let her in, if that's what she really wants._ I had to admit something to myself—whether Cait felt the same way or not, I was in love with her, and not the way good friends loved each other, either. And, I suddenly understood—at least, I _thought _I understood—why Caitlin made those comments about Angelica—she thought we slept together—and, unless I missed my guess, Caitlin was _jealous._

The next morning, I noticed Dom didn't meet me at the door like he usually does, so I walked out to the dock and climbed in the chopper. As I strapped in, Dom didn't say "'Morning, String!" like he usually does—in fact, he didn't say _anything._ And he continued not saying anything for about twenty minutes...so I finally decided if Dom wasn't going to say anything, that I needed to.

"Dom," I said, turning towards him with a worried expression, "you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, String," Dom said. "I was about to ask you the same question."

"Yeah, I'm okay, Dom," I replied. _For the first time in my life, or at least, since Gabrielle died, I think I'm really okay,_ I said to myself.

"Look, String," Dom said hesitantly, "I'm...I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I said it before...I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did, and..."

"Dom," I interrupted, and I could tell Dom was surprised by my expression, "I told you yesterday that I think what you said was something I needed to hear for a long time. I did a lot of thinking last night about what you said, Dom. And, I think things are gonna be, different," I said, mysteriously.

"Different?" Dom echoed, surprised. "In what way, String?" I was in what Dom likes to call my "deep-in-thought" mode, and didn't answer him, but I don't think he really expected me to. Then, without warning, I turned in my seat and said, "'Goofy as a pet coon,' Dom?" I don't know why, but that comment struck me as incredibly funny—accurate, especially where Moffet was concerned, but incredibly funny. And for some strange reason, it sounded a lot like something Cait might have said.

Dom laughed and said, "Heard that on TV somewhere. But it fit Moffet, don'cha think?"

"Yeah, Dom," I said. "It sure did."

When we got to the hangar, neither of us was surprised that Caitlin was already there, and everything was open for business. She always beats Dom and me to the hangar, after all, and this morning, she was standing outside, like she usually does, and waved brightly to us as we got out of the chopper. _Well, here goes nothing,_ I thought, smiling as I climbed out of the helicopter and walked to the hangar.

I had to stifle a chuckle at Caitlin's expression—she looked more confused than I've ever seen her, mainly because I was smiling at her, one of my friendliest, warmest smiles. Then, without Dom having to elbow me in the ribs like he usually does, I took off my shades and said, "'Morning, Cait."

"Mornin', Hawke," Caitlin finally stammered, and I got worried. _What'd I do?_ I asked myself.

"Cait? You okay?" I asked her, and I caught Dom's expression of surprise out of the corner of my eye. _Well,_ I said to myself, _I did say things were going to be different._ I could see how excited Dom had suddenly gotten, and I knew the reason why—but, I had something more important to worry about._Right now, I need to figure out what's bothering Caitlin. _I gently laid a hand on Caitlin's shoulder as she composed herself.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Hawke," Caitlin replied. "Just a little surprised. I mean, you don't usually say 'good morning' first, y'know." And boy, did I know that was right. _She could probably count the number of __times I've done this on one hand, and still have at least three fingers left,_ I said to myself. And I noticed Dom's expression change, almost as if he were wondering what was going on in my head.

"String?" Dom asked me later in the afternoon.

"Yeah?" I answered, surprised that it had taken Dom this long to ask me what I was doing.

"When you said that yesterday—you know...about what I said being something you've needed to hear for a long time—how many times have I tried to tell you the exact same thing?" Of course, I knew it was a rhetorical question—if Dom had a dollar for every time he _has_ tried to tell me that, Santini Air would be a much more upscale operation, there's not a doubt in my mind.

"Dom," I replied, "I know. You've tried to get me to see sense about Cait practically since the day she got here...and I've been blowing you off most of the time...especially after the hijacking." I could still remember what happened when Caitlin hung up the phone after talking to—make that _arguing with—_hermother yet again, after she missed her sister's wedding when Flight 093 was hijacked.

"_Y'know, maybe, maybe your mommy's right," Dom had said. "You **should** be lookin' out for your future! And, there's a lot of guys out there."_

"_Oh, yeah? Where?" Caitlin had demanded. Dom simply pointed at me and said, "Well! Huh?" I have to admit that Caitlin's expression shocked me. I didn't know what she was thinking, and I know she was worried about what I was thinking, and what I might say or do, so I did what I usually do in situations like that. I just kept my mouth shut. Which, I remembered thinking to myself, was probably what she expected me to do, anyway._

I still remembered the look on Caitlin's face when Dom pointed at me—and Dom's used that instance as another example of how she feels about me more than once when we've talked about it. Finally, he said, "Yeah. I have been kinda pushing that, and I'm sorry, String. But look. You and I know I'm not gonna live forever, and it'd be nice if, twenty years or so from now, when it is my time to go, it'd be nice if I knew there was somebody here lookin' after you. Y'know?"

I laughed, something Dom hadn't seen or heard me do a lot of, until recently. "Twenty years, huh, Dom?" Then I turned serious. "I know what you mean, Dom. And I appreciate it. But let's not get carried away here, okay? You know me better than anybody. I've got a lot of issues to work through, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do know that, String," Dom said, and embraced me. "And I'll, I'll try to be patient, and not push you so hard, okay?"

"Okay, Dom," I said, and we left it at that for the day. All the same, I know Dom and Cait were both surprised by my change in attitude, and wondering how long it would stick.

Over the next few weeks, I made a concentrated effort to be nicer to Cait—I bought her lunch every chance I had, and always made sure to say "Good morning" first, when Dom and I got to the hangar. And I was smiling a lot more—and I know Cait and Dom both noticed it. One day, in fact, I overheard Dom saying to Cait, "Can you believe it? String, smiling. I never thought I'd see the day."

And Caitlin simply smiled and said, "Yeah. That makes two of us, Dom."

As the days went by, I became more convinced that what I'd felt a few weeks ago was right—_I am in love with Cait. __A__nd unless I'm completely misreading the signs __I've been getting, __she feels the same way about me._ Finally, I decided to take a shot—one night after work, I said, "Cait, you want to grab some dinner? My treat." With that smile that she'd gotten so used to from me.

"String?" Cait turned to me, surprised. "Are you—are you asking me out on a date?"

"Yeah, Cait," I said, smiling as she walked up to me, "I guess I am."

She didn't have to answer me—I know it sounds corny, and overly romantic, but I could see what she wanted to say, shining in her eyes, but she finally said, "Sure, String. What did you have in mind?"

"I thought we could go out for dinner, maybe try that new place up the road a bit," I said, and I noticed Cait's eyes filling with tears. "Cait. We don't have to. I mean"—I have to admit, I was wondering what would happen when I finally asked her out, and her reaction was _not _something I'd expected.

"No, String," Cait said with a defiant shake of her head, "I want to. Believe me, I want to—I'm—I'm just really happy right now, okay?"

"Okay, Cait," I said as she excused herself to go retouch her makeup.

"_What took you so long, buddy?"_ Dom demanded, smiling at me.

"Dom," I replied, "you know I was always the stubborn one."

"Well, String," Dom said, "I'm just glad you finally came to your senses, y'know?"

"Yeah, Dom," I replied. "I do know." Just then, I saw Caitlin coming back, absolutely beaming. _That's more what I expected,_ I said to myself, relieved that her tears a moment ago weren't because she was upset with me.

"Okay, String," she said, I'm ready."

"Okay, Cait," I said, slipping my arm around her shoulders. "Dom...you okay for a couple of hours?" 

"Huh? Oh, sure," Dom said, and I could tell he was trying to keep the excitement out of his voice—and failing miserably. I smiled at him as we walked over to one of the Santini Air Jeeps, and felt Caitlin's arm slide around my waist. When we got to the Jeep, I opened the passenger side door for her, just like Dom and my dad taught me to do, before walking over to the driver's side, getting in, and starting the engine.

"String," Cait said as we pulled up to the restaurant a few minutes later, "there's a lot of things I want to tell you."

"Well, Cait," I said as I parked the Jeep, then got out and opened her door for her, offering her my arm, "there's some things I need to tell you, too." We walked in and were quickly seated, and Caitlin said, "You go first, String."

"Well," I said, taking hold of her hand, "I've, I've been doing some thinking about, us. You and me."

"What do you mean, you've been thinking about _us,_ String?" Caitlin asked, surprised. "There isn't any 'us,' you know that," she continued, and I noticed the sadness in her eyes.

"Would you like there to be, Cait?" I asked, and I hoped she could see the sincerity in my eyes.

"String? What are you trying to say?" Caitlin asked, and I saw the tears coming again.

"Cait," I began, not exactly sure what I was going to say, "I know I've been terribly rude to you, especially recently, pushing you away and all that, but I'm tired of running away from my feelings. Especially my feelings about you."

"And just how do you feel about me, String?" Caitlin asked.

"Caitlin," my voice broke and I wasn't sure I could continue, until I looked up and saw the anticipation, and _love, _shining there in her eyes, and I felt an enormous wave of peace come over me. I smiled and said, "Caitlin, _I love you._ And I have for a long time."

When she didn't respond for a few minutes, I got worried; until I realized she was trying to find her voice. Finally, she whispered, "String? Did—did you just say that you—_love me?_"

"Yeah, Cait. I did. I love you, Caitlin O'Shannessy, very much. And, I'm—I'm sorry that I've been denying it for so long." I was preparing myself for Caitlin's reaction, even though I didn't know what to expect.

Finally, she looked at me and whispered, "String, _I love you, too._ I have loved you for _so long,_ String. I think practically since the day I came back here lookin' for you. And I have been hoping, and _praying, _to hear those words from you." Just then, the waiter came with our dinners, so I reluctantly let go of Caitlin's hand so we could eat...and I could see by her expression that she was as disappointed about it as I was. _But,_ I said to myself as we ate, _I'll make up for it, later._

As we ate, I realized Caitlin had said she had some things she wanted to tell me. "Cait," I said, looking across the table at her, "I completely forgot. What was it you said you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, String," Caitlin replied, "A lot of what I wanted to tell you doesn't matter anymore." I winced inwardly, thinking I knew what she was referring to. _She was gonna tell me she was leaving,_ I said to myself, then pulled myself back into the conversation. "I guess the only thing I have to say now is—I love you, String. Don't ever forget that."

"I won't," I promised her. "On one condition."

"Condition?" Caitlin asked, puzzled. _And, if I'm not mistaken, worried about something, _I said to myself.

"Yeah," I said, grinning. "That you don't forget that I love you, too." I could see her sigh with relief at my words. _Like she'd ever forget that,_ I said to myself as we finished eating and got ready to leave.

As we drove back to the hangar, I decided I'd ask Cait about something. "Cait, when Dom pointed at me that time, after you argued with your mom about your future, what was that expression all about?"

"Well, String," Caitlin said, somewhat embarrassed, "I have to admit—I wasn't exactly sure what you were thinkin' at that moment, and, I was embarrassed 'cause of what Dom did. I didn't know what you were gonna do, and it scared me a little," she said sheepishly.

_I was a__fraid of that, _I said to myself as I pulled the Jeep off to the side of the road, and after I'd stopped and turned off the engine, I turned to Caitlin and said, "I'm sorry, Cait. I didn't mean to scare you. I guess I was kind of shocked at what Dom was hinting at, or at least, what I _thought_ he was hinting at, and I didn't know what to do, so I did what I usually do in situations like that, and just kept quiet. But," I said, grinning at her, "that's all academic now, isn't it?"

Caitlin simply smiled back at me and said, "It sure is, String. It sure is." Then she leaned over and kissed me before we headed back to the hangar.

When we got back to the hangar, I happened to notice Dom working on 4-4 Charlie, the helicopter Cait had taken to the cabin that day—the day Holly proved how nuts she really was. I still remember seeing the helicopter in a flat spin, and thinking to myself, _They've had it_, before Cait managed to pull the helicopter out of the spin just a few feet above the ocean. It looked like Dom was trying to wear the paint off a single spot on the helicopter, but I saw him turn towards the door when he heard the Jeep pull up. Without a glance in his direction, I got out of the Jeep and opened Cait's door for her, then the two of us walked over to where her car was parked, and just before I took the keys to open her door for her, I took her in my arms and kissed her, even more passionately than the one from the movie set. By the time I separated us, which I'm sure Cait would say was way too quickly, I could tell Cait's head was absolutely spinning. _And she's not the only one,_ I said to myself, glad that Dom would be handling the flying. I opened her car door for her and gave her one last, quick kiss before she closed the door and started the car, heading out of the parking lot to go home.

When I came back to the hangar, Dom was standing at the door, grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. "Did you two kids have a nice time?" He asked as we climbed in the helicopter and he started up the engine.

"Yeah, Dom," I said, shaking my head, "we did. And we each learned something."

"What would that be, String?" Dom asked, although I think he knew the answer.

"We both learned that we love each other," I said, smiling. Of course, I'd already had an idea how Caitlin felt about me—I was just glad I was right. And, I was also glad that she didn't hold a grudge against me for denying my feelings for so long.

"_YEE-HAA!"_ Dom shouted, grinning. "Oh, String, that's a load off my mind!"

"Well, Dom," I said, trying to caution him, "let's not be too hasty. I mean, you know me better than anybody. You know I've got a lot of issues to work through, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Dom said, brushing my comments aside, or so I thought. "But at least, now, you've got somebody to work through those issues with, String. That's gotta make you feel good."

"It does, Dom," I said as we landed on the dock back at the cabin, and I fought down a wave of loneliness. "Believe me, it does." As I watched the helicopter leaving, I said to myself, _I'm already missing her. Well,_ I said to myself, _maybe I'll just have to do something about that._ I have to admit—I'm still a little paranoid about the curse and everything, but it _does_ make me feel good that I've finally acknowledged my feelings about Cait—and that she's going to help me work through the issues that I've got. I fell asleep that night happier than I'd been in a long time.

The next morning when Dom and I got to the hangar, Caitlin gave me a hug that just about broke my neck. In fact, I swore I felt at least one rib snap. She blushed furiously and said, "Sorry about that, String...but part of that was from Mom." _Uh-oh,_ I said to myself, remembering some of the letters that Caitlin's mother had written her, as well as Caitlin's end of several phone conversations with her mother, which turned quickly into arguments.

"Really?" I said, still trying to get my breath back. "What else did your mom have to say?"

"Oh, just that she's real happy, no, make that _ecstatic_ that you finally saw sense about me." Caitlin's eyes gleamed as she told me how the conversation with her mother had gone.

"Well," I said as I pulled Caitlin close to me, "I'm glad things all worked out."

Later that day, I decided I'd ask Caitlin about something that had been bothering me for a couple of days. "Cait," I began, "when you called 'dibs' on Angelica that time, what were you thinking?"

"String," she started to say, but her voice broke almost immediately, but she recovered almost as quickly and continued, "when I saw Angelica coming out of your room, I thought that she just looked like she was real satisfied about somethin', and I thought that you and she had, had slept together."

_I knew it,_ I said to myself, gently laying my hands on Caitlin's shoulders. "Cait, nothing like that happened. I promise you. I mean—we kissed a couple of times, a little making out—but nothing intimate, or sexual, if that's what you were worried about."

"Yeah, String," she said with a sigh of relief. "I was worried about that, but thanks," she said, and I noticed her eyes brightening.

"Any time," I said, giving her a friendly, yet loving kiss.

Two months later, Dom and I were shocked to see the FIRM limousine pull up to the hangar one morning, and Michael not step out. Instead, Lauren, his prime pilot, stepped out and informed Dom, Caitlin and me that we were to come to Knightsbridge immediately. Not knowing what was going on, we all climbed into the limousine for the short ride to Knightsbridge.

When we got there, we were all ushered into Michael's outer office, and I swear, when his door opened, Dom and I thought we were looking at a ghost. I almost didn't recognize the older man standing in front of us, through the haze of tears that had erupted in my eyes, but then, I heard it—the voice I had begun to suspect I would never hear again. "What's wrong, little brother? Don't tell me you've forgotten me after all this time?" Even after almost sixteen years, I knew my older brother's voice like I knew Caitlin's.

"Yeah, little brother. It's me," Saint John said as we all gathered around him. "I'm home." Neither Dom nor I could speak, even though we had a million questions, but Saint John answered most of them without our needing to ask.

It turned out that Saint John, along with a group of guys from 1st Air Cav, had been rescued from a POW camp in Laos shortly before the war ended—but they didn't stay home long. As senior officer, Saint John was approached by a member of the CIA and asked if he would be interested in forming a clandestine ops unit—capable of recon, strike missions, intel gathering, anything that might be required, and actually not too different from what Caitlin, Dom and I do with Airwolf. He'd gone on to explain that his unit was operating under _Top Secret Umbra _classification, which I knew was the _highest _security classification in the United States. When I heard that, I understood why it had been so hard to find out any information on him—it was like he'd just disappeared from existence. When Saint John first told me about why he'd been gone so long, I was very angry, and hurt, and I let him know it. Finally, though, Caitlin and Dom sat down with me and Saint John, and the three of them helped me understand Saint John's way of thinking—he figured that Dom and I thought he was already dead, so he didn't see the harm in taking this new assignment. After a couple of knock-down, drag-out screaming matches that Dom was forced to referee, Saint John and I finally made our peace about a month after he came home.

About four months after we "officially" got together, I made a decision—_I love __Cait__lin, __and she loves me. It's time._ So, without telling Dom or anybody else, I bought plane tickets for Caitlin's mom, along with her older sister Erin, and sent a letter, along with the tickets, inviting them both to the cabin. _If Cait goes along with this, and Erin's not involved, I'd be in big trouble,_ I said to myself. Now, of course, the challenge would be keeping my secret from Dom and Cait until Cait's mom and sister arrived, and _then_ keeping it from everybody until I was ready to finally propose to Cait.

On the day Caitlin's mom and Erin were supposed to arrive, I told Dom that they'd be coming, and that I wanted him to take Caitlin's mom and Erin up to the cabin, and fix dinner that night for all of us—his spaghetti and garlic bread.

"What's the deal, String?" Dom demanded just before their plane arrived. "Why'd you invite Cait's mom and sister out here?"

"It's, a surprise, Dom," I said, and told him that if either Caitlin's mother or Erin asked about it, he should tell them simply that it was a surprise. Dom gave me a dirty look, but agreed to go along with whatever I was doing, and I thought back to something that happened after our parents died.

When our parents' wills were read, there was a handwritten note from our mother with her personal effects, along with her engagement ring—the note said that if Saint John and I were single when Mom died, whichever of us, Saint John or myself, got engaged first, should give the ring to our intended. I checked the pocket of my blazer before I changed that night, and took Caitlin over to one of the helicopters after we'd finished shutting down the hangar.

"What's going on, String?" Caitlin demanded as soon as she realized we were headed to the cabin.

I simply turned in my seat, smiled, and said, "It's a surprise, Cait."

Something in Caitlin's expression told me she didn't buy it...and I began worrying as to whether or not I could pull this off. When we landed, Caitlin recognized two people who were there with Dom, and if she hadn't been worried before, now she was definitely worried. She introduced her mother Maggie, and older sister Erin to me, and both Maggie and Erin demanded to know what was going on, since Dom wouldn't say a word to them. I simply smiled and said, "It's a surprise, ladies."

By this time, I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep the secret much longer, so after the dinner dishes were cleared, I asked Dom to serve up champagne to everyone; and then, not being one for big speeches, I simply reached into my blazer and pulled out the box containing the ring. Opening it, I dropped to one knee and said, "Caitlin O'Shannessy, will you marry me?"

I have to admit, the silence that followed my question made all of us nervous—me, most of all, I'm sure—but, finally, Caitlin managed to whisper, "God, _yes! Yes, _Stringfellow Hawke, I will marry you!" As I heard the applause from Dom, Erin, and Maggie, I slipped the ring onto the third finger of her left hand, then stood up and drew Caitlin to me for another deep, passionate kiss. Once I separated us, Caitlin apologized for hesitating so long, and explained that she couldn't find her voice, which I understood. Then, Caitlin's mom apologized for all the bad things she'd ever written, or said to Cait, about me. I simply smiled and told her that I accepted her apology, even though I didn't think it was necessary—after all, I explained, I had been being incredibly stupid about Caitlin for a long time, and Maggie was simply telling Cait, and by extension, _me,_ exactly how she felt—and I reassured her that I didn't blame her for anything.

Later that evening, Dom got ready to take Erin and Maggie back to the hangar so they could go back to their hotel, and Dom almost asked Caitlin if she was going with them, but something stopped him. As the three of them moved out to the dock, I turned to Caitlin and said, "Was there a reason you wanted to stay here tonight, Cait?" I don't know why I asked, actually. It made perfect sense that she'd want to spend the night with me, now that we were engaged to be married.

"String, don't ask stupid questions," Caitlin replied, grinning impishly at me as she pressed her body close against mine. She kissed me again, and I felt all the love and desire we had for one another building with every second that we held each other. Finally, though, I pulled away for just a moment. "Cait," I said, "if this isn't what you want, you tell me, right now."

"String," Caitlin said as she tightened her arms around me, "shut up, take me upstairs, and make love to me. _Now. Right now._" And without another word, I proceeded to do exactly as I'd been told.

I wasn't in the least surprised the next morning when Caitlin announced that she wanted to move up to the cabin, permanently, even though we'd only spent that one magical night together. Saint John, Dom and I were able to get her moved out of her house and up to the cabin in a day's time, and while we had dinner that night, Caitlin asked Dom if he would walk her down the aisle at our wedding. Dom, who wouldn't be able to do it for his own daughter, Sally Anne, responded that he would be honored to do it, which made Caitlin and me both happy. Saint John agreed to stand with me as my best man, and Cait's sister Erin would stand with her as maid of honor.

Now, some two years after we met, Caitlin and I were finally married. The judge who performed the ceremony summed up our relationship quite nicely: _"From what I've been told, these two have traveled a long and, _**interesting **_road, to get to this time and place, together." _Caitlin and I simply looked at each other, and we instinctively knew each other's thought—_You have _**no idea.**

That night, as I slipped into bed next to my wife, I thought about how Caitlin had become such an important part of my life in such a comparatively short time. _Now, she is my life,_ I said to myself as we moved into each other's arms and fell asleep. As I pulled her body tight against mine, and felt her arms around me, I realized that I knew, finally, who I belonged with. _Thank you, Caitlin Hawke,_ I said to myself as I felt sleep claiming me. _Thank you—for everything._


End file.
